The Apple of My Eye
by a vision of violets
Summary: Diego is Hermione’s son. He doesn’t have a father. While playing at the park, he meets a very nice man called Draco. Hermione is unaware of her son’s new friend. Then one day, she spies him sitting on the lap of a man she never wanted to see again.
1. A New Friend

**The Apple of My Eye**

**Summary:** Diego is Hermione's son. He doesn't have a father. While playing at the park, he meets a very nice man called Draco. Hermione is unaware of her son's new friend. Then one day, she spies him sitting on the lap of a man she never wanted to see again.

**Disclaimer:** It's surprising I know, but I don't own anything.

* * *

**Chapter 1: A New Friend**

Diego sat in the sand pit and drove his toy truck over the mound he had created. "Brum, brum," he muttered. He looked over to the other side of the pit. Another little boy his age was building a sand castle. Gathering all the courage in his little five year old body, Diego walked over to the boy, his truck clutched by his side.

"Hi," he said nervously.

The other boy looked up. "Hello."

Diego looked at the ground. He opened his mouth but no sound came out.

The other boy smiled. "Do you wanna play with me?"

Smiling nervously, Diego sat down beside him. "My name's Diego. What's yours?"

"Jack. But my mummy's French so when she says my name it sounds like _Jaques,"_ Jack said pulling a face.

Diego giggled. He liked Jack. He was funny.

Jack started talking again. "Okay, you can help me with my castle. But I'm the boss, so you have to follow my orders."

Diego frowned. "But I want to be the boss too. Can't we both be the boss?"

"NO!" Jack shouted. "I'm the boss because I said it first!"

"I don't want to play with you anymore," Diego said.

"No," Jack said more softly. "I'm sorry, okay? How about we play tag instead?" He gave Diego a smile to show that he was genuinely sorry.

Diego just smiled in response.

Before he knew what was happening, he was shoved roughly. "You're it!" Jack yelled.

"Hey, no fair," Diego said. But Jack was already running ahead. He quickly put his truck in his pocket and raced after him.

Jack wasn't very fast and Diego started catching up to him quickly. He stretched his hand out. He couldn't quite reach. He urged his legs to go just a bit faster. Closer now. Finally, he was able to firmly place his hand on Jack's shoulder.

They both stopped for a second.

"My turn," Jack said.

Before Jack could move his legs, Diego was off. He raced around a tree, past the sand pit and by the girls playing with their Barbies. He glanced behind him and couldn't see Jack anywhere. He stopped.

"Jack!" he called. "Jack!"

Suddenly, Jack appeared from behind a tree. He had one hand behind his back. His eyed glinted evilly.

"Jack!" Diego called in relief. "Where did you go?"

"I'm tired," said Jack. "I want to sit down."

He walked towards Diego. Diego felt scared all of a sudden.

Suddenly, Jack threw something at him. Instinctively, he raised his arms in front of his face, but it didn't stop the sand from hitting him and going into his eyes.

He screamed in pain. Through his blurry vision, he saw a figure which he thought was Jack running out of the park and down the street. He continued howling. The pain was unbearable.

The girls playing with their Barbies stopped pouring out their pretend tea and looked over at the wailing boy. They didn't know what to do. They wanted to comfort him because he was in pain, but they didn't want to get cooties either. So, just to be safe, they resumed their little Barbie tea party.

Diego dropped to the ground with his hands over his eyes. He didn't know what to do.

He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he heard a strong male voice say.

Without looking up, he just sobbed. "I've got, _sob_, sand_, sob, _in my eyes!"

Two strong hands pulled him up and carried him into the public toilets. He felt water being splashed onto his face. He then heard the man say something he didn't understand. It didn't sound English. Suddenly, the pain disappeared. He tried to open his eyes. It felt liked he had never had sand in his eyes.

He stood on his tippy-toes and peered into the mirror above the sink. His eyes weren't even red. He then noticed the man standing behind him.

He turned around slowly. "Th-thanks," he said soflty.

The man flashed him a smile. "No problem, kid."

The man was very good-looking. He had blonde hair and grey eyes. Diego especially liked his clothes. They were all black – black pants and a black shirt. He thought he looked like a hero.

"What happened to you?" the man asked.

Diego told him about Jack and how they were playing, but Jack was being really mean. He liked the way the man nodded and frowned in all the right places.

The man spoke again. "Do want to get some ice cream? I'll buy it for you."

Diego looked up at the man with wide eyes. "Can I get any flavour I want?"

"Any flavour you want," the man confirmed.

"Can I get a double scoop?"

"Sure."

Diego thought about it. His mummy had told him never to trust strangers. She had given him many examples of how little kids had been kidnapped by strangers who were nice to them. But the ice cream stand was right next to the park. There were heaps of people. If the man tried anything mean, he could always yell. He was good at yelling.

"You got yourself a deal mister," he said finally.

The man smiled at the boys answer. _Cute kid_, he thought.

The two walked side-by-side as they strolled through the large park.

"So, what's your name?" the man asked.

"Diego."

"Do you have a last name?"

"Yeah, but I don't know who you are, so I'm not telling."

This made the man chuckle. He really liked this kid.

"What's your name?" Diego asked.

"Draco."

Diego frowned. "That's a weird name."

Draco tried not to be offended. He quite liked his name.

"But I like it," the kid went on to say.

"Diego's a pretty strange name too you know, but it's nice," Draco said back.

"I know," was the answer. "My mummy said that Diego was one of the best names in the world." Diego smiled proudly.

"Do you know what your name means?" Draco asked.

"Yep! It's Spanish and it means 'the supplanter'. My mummy told me," the little boy beamed.

Draco was impressed.

"What does Draco mean?" Diego asked.

"Draco is Latin for dragon."

"What's Latin?"

"Uh, nobody really speaks Latin anymore, but um, a long time ago, in the country of Italy…"

"Oh! I know Italy! Mummy said that we went on holiday there when I was three!"

"Yeah…okay. Well, Hundreds of years ago, the people of Italy spoke a language called Latin…" Draco trailed off. He didn't know how to explain such things to really little kids. He had no idea if Diego had even understood any of that.

He felt a hand tugging his sleeve. He looked down and saw Diego trying to get his attention. "Excuse me Draco," he was saying. "But we've reached the ice cream place."

Draco looked up and blinked. "So we have," he muttered to himself. Then to Diego he said; "What flavours do you want?"

Diego looked at the board and squinted. He tugged again on Draco's sleeve. "Does the third one say rainbow?" he asked.

Draco stared at the child in surprise. "You can read?"

Diego looked at him like he was stupid. "I am five, you know," he said.

"Right, right," Draco mumbled. "Uh, the third one does say rainbow. What other flavour do you want?"

"I want the peppermint choc chip."

Draco bought their ice creams and together they walked back into the park and looked for a bench to sit. They found a picnic table near the pond and sat down.

It suddenly occurred to Draco that the child was alone.

"Diego, where are your parents?"

"My mummy's at home doing some grown-up stuff."

"So where's your dad?"

Diego looked down. "I don't have a dad."

"Don't be silly. Everyone's got a…oh," Draco suddenly realised what the boy was talking about. "I'm really sorry. How did he die?"

"He's not dead, silly. He's just, not here. I've never met him."

"Oh, sorry," Draco felt stupid.

"That's okay." Diego just smiled and continued licking his ice cream.

Draco ignored his own cone and stared at the boy. How could a five year old be so mature? It amazed him. Draco wasn't very fond of his own father, but he couldn't imagine growing up without a male in the family. But this little boy looked so content slurping away at his cone and swinging his legs while looking at the ducks on the pond.

He felt a strange feeling course through his body. He struggled to identify it as affection. He smirked to himself. What would people say if they knew that Draco Malfoy was feeling affectionate? And that too, to a little boy he barely knew.

He looked again at the boy. Diego was cute with white-blonde hair, just like his own, that fell lightly into his eyes. His eyes were a warm brown. Draco predicted that he was going to be a really heartbreaker in his teen years. _Just like me, _he thought, a smile brightening up his face. He wondered if Diego was a wizard. He couldn't ask him in case he wasn't. It would just frighten him.

"Hey, do you want to feed the ducks?" he asked instead.

The child brightened up at this. "Could we really?" he asked excitedly.

"Sure, we'll just go buy some bread first."

Diego stopped him. "No, you've spent enough money on the ice creams already…"

"Look kid," Draco interrupted, "don't worry about money, I've got heaps."

"That's okay," Diego continued, "but instead of you buying the bread, I can quickly run home and get some of ours. We've got heaps."

"How far away is your house?" Draco asked.

"Just up the road."

"What if your mother doesn't allow you to take the bread?"

"Then you can buy the bread." Without waiting for a reply, he ran off.

Draco sighed and sat back down. There was something about this kid. Something made Draco want to spend time with him. He wondered who Diego's mother was. Whoever she was, she was obviously a very good one.

* * *

Diego raced up the front steps and banged on the door. He hoped Draco hadn't left. He was really nice. He banged the door again. Where was she?

"Mummy!" he shouted.

"Coming!" he heard her reply.

Finally, the door opened. Hermione looked down at her son. "Finished playing in the park?"

Diego pushed past her. "No. I made a new friend. We're going to feed the ducks, so can I take some bread?"

"Sure." She walked into the kitchen and pulled out half a loaf of bread. "Here you go." She handed the bag to Diego.

"Thanks mummy," he said and made towards the door.

"So who's your new friend?" she asked. But Diego was already running along the footpath to the park.

Hermione leaned in the doorway and watched him. He was such a good child. He did what he was told and he was very smart for his age. _Like me._ He was also very charming._ Just like his father._

His father.

Hermione knew that as Diego got older, he would demand to know who his father was. That's when she would be in trouble.

* * *

Diego raced back to the park as fast as he could. He prayed that Draco hadn't left yet. As he approached the pond, he saw that Draco was still sitting there. He sighed in relief.

Draco looked up as he saw Diego approaching. He smiled. He didn't know why. The sight of the child just made him look happy.

"Here it is," Diego panted, out of breath from running so fast.

Together, the two of them fed the ducks, talking and laughing. Both content with just each others presence. Somewhere, amongst their bantering, Diego's hand found itself in Draco's.

They were interrupted an hour later when Draco's mobile rang. Excusing himself, Draco took the call.

Diego watched him while he talked. He looked very different. He didn't look so friendly anymore. He looked like he meant business. He really liked Draco a lot.

When Draco came back, his face was apologetic. "Sorry, kid, but I've gotta go now."

"Why?"

"Well, something came up at work and they need me there to help urgently."

Diego's face fell. "Oh."

Draco knelt down beside him. "Hey cheer up. We had fun right?"

Diego nodded.

"Well, that's what counts. I'm really glad I met you Diego." He stood.

"Wait. Can I see you again?"

Draco was surprised. Did the kid really like him that much? "Sure. I'd love to."

Diego's face lit up. "Can I see you tomorrow?"

Draco thought. He two meetings tomorrow. But he was free in the afternoon.

"How about I meet you right here at four o'clock?"

"It's a deal!" Diego looked so delighted Draco couldn't help but grin himself.

"Seeya kid," patting him on the head, Draco turned and walked away.

Diego watched Draco's back. He wished he could have a dad like Draco.

Sighing, he turned back to the ducks and threw the rest of the bread into the water before making his way home.

That night, as Diego fell asleep, his dreams were filled with images of Draco, his mother and himself having a picnic on the beach.


	2. Off to meet again

**The Apple of My Eye**

**Summary:** Diego is Hermione's son. He doesn't have a father. While playing at the park, he meets a very nice man called Draco. Hermione is unaware of her son's new friend. Then one day, she spies him sitting on the lap of a man she never wanted to see again.

**Disclaimer:** It's surprising I know, but I don't own anything.

* * *

**Chapter 2:**

The next morning, Diego bounded out of bed, feeling happier than usual and didn't even complain about brushing his teeth.

Hermione was surprised in the sudden change. He hadn't been this happy since his Uncle Harry had taken him to Disney Land in America for his birthday. She wondered why.

As the two sat down at the table for their breakfast, Diego chattered away as only small children can. In the half and hour they spent at the table eating, he had ranged from the picture he was going to draw for his new friend – what was his name? David? - to how Herbert (his favourite stuffed bear) needed to be mended yet again. All the while he had a rosy tint in his cheeks.

Hermione didn't talk much. She was content to watch her beautiful son. She felt a bubble of pride rise in her bosom. He was such a sweet child. Her mind wondered then, to his future. He needed a strong male influence. Harry and Ron were there. They were always there to help. And Diego was very attached to both of them. But somehow, they weren't enough.

She had considered marrying or having a boyfriend, but she couldn't find anyone. Not that she wasn't asked out, oh no. Hermione was attractive enough – not stunning, but pretty. She had been hit on a fair bit, but as soon as they realised she had a son, they seemed to suddenly have important meetings to rush off to. A couple had said they didn't mind, but they had pretended that Diego hadn't existed.

Hermione sighed. She didn't know what to do. Her mother had always said that things straighten themselves out in time.

Hermione then thought about her job. When she had first had Diego, she had only been out of Hogwarts nine months. She and everyone she knew thought her life would be over. There weren't many teenage mothers who were able to make it to the top. Hermione had been distraught. She had come out with marks equivalent to Albus Dumbledore's and she thought it would all be a waste.

But it seemed that in the wizarding world, if you were that intelligent, and had the right attitude; people were willing to give you a chance.

The job offers had been withheld until Diego was six moths old, then they came rushing in. Hermione Granger, the smartest witch of the time was in hot demand.

Her prospective employers were willing to negotiate almost anything with her. So she settled to work in the Organised Crime department of the Ministry of Magic. She worked five days a week, but from ten till three, but earned the equivalent of someone working sixty hour weeks.

She was had everything, so why was she feeling empty?

Her mind threatened to stray to Diego's father, but fought to think about other things. She had vowed never to think about that son of a bitch ever again, and she intended to do exactly that.

* * *

Diego was in heaven. His mummy had made his favourite breakfast – French toast – and he was going to see Draco again this afternoon. He couldn't wait.

He had been a bit worried about his mother at breakfast though, she seemed to have been a bit worried about something. But grown-ups could look after themselves couldn't they?

After his breakfast, Diego had gone up to his room and started drawing a picture for Draco. He carefully drew the lines as best he could to look like Draco, and himself feeding the ducks. It took him three attempts to get it right. Next he got out his colouring pencils. He coloured both of their clothes black because he liked the way the black clothing had looked on Draco and he wanted to look as good as him too.

After that he coloured in the grass, the pond and the ducks. Then he came to their hair. Diego had always had difficulty in colouring his hair, because it was neither white, nor blonde and Draco's was the same. His child-care teachers had told him to use yellow because it would be easier, but he refused. He couldn't tolerate things not being right. So he had devised his own method. It wasn't perfect, but it satisfied him. He lightly coloured their heads yellow, but made sure to leave a few gaps. Over that, he coloured in with the white pencil, pressing hard. Somewhere in the middle of all this, his mother came in and pressed her lips to his forehead and murmured a loving farewell. Diego didn't notice – he was too engrossed in his artwork.

Diego sat back and admired his picture. It was one of the best he had ever done. Draco was sure to like it. He looked at the digital clock on his bedside table. It was only eleven o'clock. He would normally watch TV or Wizarding TV, but he felt restless. He wanted to see Draco again.

He went downstairs and saw Bess, his babysitter, sitting on the sofa reading one her weird books with two people kissing on the cover. When his mother went to work at ten, Bess would come over if it was a Monday, Tuesday or a Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, he would go to the wizarding childcare centre that was a block down the street from where his mother worked.

He liked Bess, she was old, and really good for cuddles. He loved watching her face when she laughed because her face looked really pretty. She had been looking after him for as long as he could remember so she didn't bother making her arrival known to him – he knew she would arrive when his mother left.

"Good morning Bess," he said jovially.

"Good morning sweetie," she replied, looking up from her romance novel. "I baked some bickies at my place this morning. They're on the kitchen counter is you'd fancy a few."

With a grin, Diego scampered into the kitchen and came back into the living room with on in his mouth and six more in his small hands.

"Diego," Bess scolded. "You know your mother doesn't allow food in the living areas!"

The little boy just pouted at her. Or rather, he pouted as best he could with his mouth crammed with chocolate biscuits.

"Fine, you can eat here, just don't tell your mother. And don't tell her about all those other times I've let you eat out here okay?"

Diego didn't respond.

"Diego, are you even listening to me?" Bess couldn't see his face as his back was towards her. "Diego?"

Then she saw his shoulders shaking.

"Oh, my dear child!" she exclaimed, rushing over to the weeping child's side. "It's okay sweetie, you just tell Bess what's bothering you."

All her cooing and reassuring was a waste, however, because Bess soon realised that Diego was not crying. Rather, he was laughing, happy that he had gotten her all worried about him.

"Diego Granger! You naughty boy! You should be ashamed of yourself. Making old ladies like me all worried!"

All Diego could do was giggle, too caught up in his mirth to say anything.

Bess huffed in indignation. Then she relaxed her shoulders and smiled at the boy. He was so adorable it was impossible to be mad at him. He continued to laugh, his mouth still full of biscuit.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and steered him to the TV, which was charmed to broadcast both muggle and wizarding programs, and plopped him down on the rug.

"You, my little prince, will just watch your favourite little shows _quietly,_ and _without_ worrying me. Is the understood?"

Diego nodded, still giggling from his previous trick.

Bess sighed, he was impossible. Leaving him to watch his shows, she picked up her book and moved into the kitchen and placed herself at the kitchen counter and resumed reading her novel, while munching on a biscuit.

Her mind, however, was not in the mood for romantic fiction. She kept thinking about Diego and Hermione. They had created a little world for themselves. And they were very happy. But Bess, who had known Hermione from when she was Diego's age, knew that they were both incomplete. Hermione needed a partner and Diego needed a father.

The first word he had learned how to write was _dad._ And many times, while babysitting him at night, she would hear him murmur _"daddy, where are you?"_ in his sleep.

Bess knew the story about Diego's father. It had brought her closer to Hermione. She just hoped Hermione would be able to deal with her son's questions when he grew older.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was a busy man.

He was also a very rich man.

He also happened to be extremely good-looking man.

This was a very good combination, in Draco's point of view.

His girlfriend Summer adored him. She could find only one fault in him – he seemed to be more committed to his father's business than her. This made her strive even harder for his attention.

That drove Draco further and further away from her. He didn't like clingy girls. But he did enjoy having sex with her. He didn't believe that women were only for sex, but that's was the only thing Summer was good at.

That was why, after all three of his meetings, Draco had accepted Summer's invitation to have a late lunch with her.

As he walked up the steps to her front door, he loosened his tie. He had two hours before he was going to the park.

Summer answered the door naked. "Draco," she purred.

Draco didn't answer. Talking to her turned him off because she was so dumb. He just scooped her up into his arms and pushed the door shut with his foot.

As he walked to her bedroom, he kissed her hungrily, to stop her from chattering.

On the bed, Summer, who knew Draco liked it rough, quickly began pushing his clothes off.

Once his shirt was off, she threw herself back onto the bed dramatically. "Touch me Draco!"

Draco moved his hand to her inner thigh and inched it up.

Suddenly Diego's little face appeared in his mind. His hand stopped.

Summer looked up. "Touch me Draco!" she demanded.

But Draco couldn't. He pushed himself off the bed and put his shirt back on.

"Draco," Summer said, "what are doing?"

"I'm leaving," he said tightly.

"What? You can't do that. I'm your girlfriend. You can't just leave!"

"Oh yeah?" he asked, "just watch me."

With that, he walked out of her house. As he walked down the street, he thought about shy he had stopped. He loved sex with Summer, so why had he stopped? Why did the thought of Diego make it seem so wrong to shag his own girlfriend?

He honestly didn't know.

* * *

Diego lay lazily on his bed, staring at his clock. It was now three o'clock. Even though his favourite wizard shows were on at the moment, he had not been able to digest anything. Bess had offered to go to the park with him so they could play together, but Diego felt strangely possessive of Draco. He knew that if Bess was at the park, she would meet Draco. And he knew that if she met Draco, she would like him. He didn't want that. Diego had just met Draco; he didn't want to share him just yet.

As he watched the clock change to 3:02, he put his thumb in his mouth. His mummy strongly discouraged thumb-sucking. She had tried many ways to stop him, including covering his thumb in hot chilli powder. It hadn't worked. Diego would just liked the powder off. Of course, he had cried the first few times, but now he was used to it. He would have made any Indian family proud.

When his mother had seemed to be at the brink of pulling her hair out about it, Diego decided to stop. Well, he stopped doing it in front of her. He usually sucked his thumb in bed, because he was sure his mother didn't watch him while he slept.

He looked back at the clock.

3:17.

Still too early. But he could wait in the park.

He went downstairs. Bess was still reading her weird looking book.

"Bess, I'm going to the park," he called.

"Do you want me to come, sweetie?"

"No," he answered. He quickly gave her a peck on the check and raced out the door.

He skipped happily past the three houses that separated his home from the park and continued along to the same table where they had fed the ducks the previous day. There was a family having a picnic there, so Diego decided to just stay around that area so that he could spot Draco when he came.

He sat down at a different bench and looked up to see Jack, the boy who had been so mean to him, walking over.

"Hiya, Diego!" Jack greeted him happily.

"Hi," Diego replied uneasily. He hadn't forgotten about Jack chucking sand in his eyes.

Jack plopped himself down next to him, and just smiled, as if to say that he was innocent. "Wanna play?"

Diego thought about it. It was still a while before Draco would arrive, but he didn't really like Jack. "No thank you," he said politely.

Jack frowned. "Fine!" And with that, he ran off.

Diego watched him run away. He giggled to himself when Jack tripped over a stick. Suddenly, he remembered that he had left his picture for Draco back in his room. With a gasp he sprang up. He didn't know what time it was, so he didn't know if he had enough time to go home and get it. He looked over at the family eating by the pond. They seemed like nice people.

He walked quickly over to them.

"Excuse me," he said nervously, "but would you be able to tell me what the time is?"

The family stopped talking and looked over at the small boy. The mother smiled kindly and looked at her watch. "It's 3:45, darling."

Diego smiled back. "Thankyou maam," then he ran off. He had just enough time to run home.

When he got home though, Bess wouldn't answer the door. "Bess!" he kept calling, but to no avail. He was running out of time. He had no idea how long Draco would wait at the park. He ran around to the side of the house and looked for an open window. There, the family room window was open! But it was too high for him.

In their backyard they had an outdoor furniture set. He could get one of the chairs to stand on. He ran into the backyard, panting. He grabbed a chair and began hauling it over to the window…only to realise that it was too heavy for him.

He gave out a scream of frustration. He couldn't go back to the park without the drawing – he just couldn't! Now everything would be ruined. And he didn't know what had happened to Bess. What if she had died? He sank into the grass as tears began spilling over his cheeks.

* * *

Draco sat in his car. He had parked a street away from the park. In the passenger seat next to him was a neatly wrapped package for Diego. It was a remote control car. He wondered if it was appropriate to give him such a present when they had only met the day before. It seemed too much too soon. There was still ten minutes to four.

He started the car and drove to a mall that was just a few blocks away. He got out and looked around at the shops. He went into a store that sold novelty stuff. Draco wondered what Diego would like. Toys seemed out of the question. He didn't even know if the kid had told his mother about him.

He decided to just get a packet of chips and two bottles of coke. Nothing could beat good old junk food. He glanced at his watch. 4:01.

"Shit!" he cursed out loud. A mother, shopping with her three young sons glared angrily at him.

He hurried back to his car and made his way back to the park. He hoped the kid hadn't left already.

Bess had fallen asleep at a particularly boring part of her novel. She was awakened by a faint sobbing noise. When she heard a crash, she bolted out of her seat, fully alert. The sound had come from the backyard. She crept as softly as she could to the back of the house and peered as stealthily as she could through the curtain. What she saw shocked her.

Diego was sitting on the grass, next to the step of the patio and was crying. It seemed to her that Diego had pushed over one of Hermione's pot plants and shattered the pot. That explained the noise she had heard.

Bess threw open the back door and scooped the child into her arms.

"Oh, honey," she cooed, "it's okay, sweetie. You just tell old Bess what happened."

Diego was thrilled to see Bess. Since he now knew that Bess was alive, his tears stopped. He struggled to get out of her grip.

"Bess, let go of me," he said.

Bess blinked in surprise and let go off him. Once released, Diego dashed up to his room where the drawing was lying on his bed. He grabbed it and ran down the stairs, where Bess was waiting for him.

She grabbed his arm as he tried to rush past. "Now hold on young man," she said crossly, "were you putting me on again?"

"No, Bess, I wasn't. But I really have to go now. I promised to meet my friend at the park at four o'clock, but now I'm late. Please let me go," he pleaded.

Bess, who was a stickler for things like punctuality and keeping promises, let him go. "But you better tell me the whole story when you get back young man!" she called after him.

Diego ran as fast as his little legs could take him. He prayed that Draco was still there.

* * *

Draco walked quickly over to the pond. He couldn't see Diego anywhere. He noticed a family packing up a picnic at the table he and Diego had sat at the previous day.

"Excuse me," he said. "Have you seen a small boy about this high with hair like mine?"

The mother smiled up at him. "Yes, he was here about twenty minutes ago. He asked us the time and ran off."

_Twenty minutes ago? _What was he doing here that early? But it seemed as if he had already left. Draco made as if to turn around, when the woman spoke again.

"You're son's very polite. He's very cute too. You've raised him well."

Draco stared at the lady. Was she serious?

"Uh, the kid's not my son. We're not even related," he said awkwardly.

The lady blushed. "Oh, sorry. It's just that, well, you're hair, as you said yourself, is very similar. So, I just sort of assumed that…well, sorry about that."

"It's okay," Draco said quickly. Since Diego had obviously left a long time ago, there was no point in staying. Muttering a quick good bye to the family, he turned around and began walking briskly back to his car.

Just as he exited the park, he heard a voice calling his name. He spun around to see Diego running towards him, waving a piece of paper in the air. As he drew closer, Draco opened his arms and pulled the boy into a warm hug.

"Hey there kid," he said into his hair, "I thought you weren't coming."

Diego could barely talk – he was so excited. Draco hadn't left!

He started babbling out his story about drawing the picture and breaking his mummy's pot plant and Bess being dead and so on.

Draco stared at him in amazement. How could he talk so fast and still breathe? Then Diego waved the picture in his face. He looked at the crude drawing of two figures next to a blue circle with brown spots in it and fell in love. In love with the drawing and in love Diego.

"I love it," he said.

Diego stopped talking in surprise. "You do? Really?"

"Yeah, really."

Diego gave him another hug to show him that it meant a lot to him.

"So," Draco said, "you want to have some chips and coke?"

"Oh, yes please!" Diego said with excitement.

Together, they reclaimed their table by pond and spent the rest of the evening chattering away like only the best of friends could. They were only interrupted twice by Draco's business calls.

They parted with plans to meet again the next day. Each slept better than they ever had before.

* * *

A huge thankyou to all my fabulous reviewers! I can't believe I got twenty! That's more than what I got for Unfortunate Fates. I still can't get over it.

Oliver's Quidditch Crazy – my first reviewer! I love your reviews because they're long and, well, just wonderful! Thankyou! Sorry that you don't have a dad.  But you still seem like a really upbeat person.

runaway mental patient – thankyou for reviewing!

rainbowsrock – glad you thought it was inventive

sporty12gd4u – thanks for taking time to review

sexy-jess – thanx for reading my bio! You're probably right about Draco being the father. I had a twist in mind, but I don't know if I'm going to use it.

Hidden-Me-05 – thanks for reviewing!

Bea - you're probably right.

trapped-in-a-dream – I hope you liked this chapter

Emily – I'm glad you like it!

Tiniwiel – you're probably right, but I might include a twist. Hermione will find out soon - but not too soon. Maybe another two chapters or so.

Icea – hope this chapter satisfied you.

Red Satin and Black Silk – I love your name

Parcheezie – well, I'll see. I'm not quite upto that stage yet.

neville's princess – thanx for reviewing

i own u eddie stack – one of my favourite reviewers! Thanx for reviewing

colorguard06 – glad you thought it was good

Tru-Pinai 4-eva – thankyou for reviewing

Sherezade-Meisuke – well, here's the next chappie for you!

The-Dragon's-Angel – I love your name

Thanks again guys!

Just a note, it will take me longer to update my two tow stories now because school's just started again. But I'll do the best I can.

Please remember to review this chappie too guys!

Love,

A vision of violets


	3. The One

**The Apple of My Eye**

**Summary:** Diego is Hermione's son. He doesn't have a father. While playing at the park, he meets a very nice man called Draco. Hermione is unaware of her son's new friend. Then one day, she spies him sitting on the lap of a man she never wanted to see again.

**Disclaimer:** It's surprising I know, but I don't own anything.

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

Hermione waited patiently in the Black Bean Café where she always met Candy. As always, she was at the back, in the left corner. She sipped her strong black coffee. Candy was over twenty minutes late and she was getting worried. What if she had been found out? Worst case scenarios raced through Hermione's head. Suddenly she heard the front door tinkle and looked up. Candy had arrived.

Candy slid her long voluptuous body into the booth and flashed Hermione a quick smile. Hermione did not return it. "Where the hell were you?" she hissed.

Candy opened her mouth to speak, but then a waiter arrived, so she ordered a slice of carrot cake instead. Once the waiter was gone, Hermione looked at her questioningly. "Well? What happened?"

"Hermione darling, it's getting harder and harder for me to do what you want me to do. People are getting suspicious," Candy said.

Hermione sighed and massaged her temples with her fingertips. This was all getting so complicated. "If you don't want to, I'll understand, okay? You just say the word and I'll call it off. There's absolutely no pressure."

Candy didn't answer; instead, she examined her fingernails while she weighed the pros and cons in her head. It would be dangerous, but the danger gave her a thrill. Besides, she had forged a real bond with Hermione, she couldn't just leave her.

She sighed. "I'll stay, but that's only 'cause I love you so much," she joked.

Hermione released the breath she had been holding. She had been so worried that Candy was going to call it off.

Then Candy spoke again. "I've got the package you wanted."

"Oh my god! Are you serious?" Hermione said disbelievingly.

Candy nodded, very pleased with herself.

Hermione squealed. "Hand it over then!"

Candy reached into her large shoulder bag and pulled out a thin rectangular box in a nondescript plastic bag.

"Are you sure it's the right one?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, yeah," Candy replied. "One black ten inch dildo with built in vibrator. That's what you told me to get."

"Excellent."

Candy just smiled coyly. "I told you I would get it, now you can have your fun with it."

"Of course. Candy, babes, you are wonderful. Now, are you ready for Saturday night?"

"Ready as ever baby."

Hermione nodded. "Great, then I'll see you at the club at ten thirty."

* * *

Back at the office, Hermione looked around for her superior, James Whiting. She found him in the kitchen, making himself a cup of tea. He smiled when he saw her. "Ah, Hermione. My favourite little minion! What can I do for you?"

"Sir, you should probably sit down for this. You'll be shocked."

Whiting chuckled. "Hermione, I've been in Organised Crime for twenty years. There isn't much that can shock me."

"Yes, sir, I know. But trust me, you will be shocked," Hermione assured him.

"Very well," Whiting said, taking a seat at the table with his tea.

"Sir, I just had my weekly rendezvous with Candy. Do you remember how she helped with the Blackhall case?"

"Yes, yes. She was your informant. Carry on."

"Well," Hermione paused. She could barely suppress her excitement. "Well, I stayed in contact with her. We would still meet every month or so. And now we've become very…close."

Whiting gasped. "Hermione, are you gay?"

"What?" Hermione was shocked. She certainly wasn't expecting this.

"How close exactly did you get to Candy?" he demanded.

Suddenly Hermione realised that her wording had not been too good. She laughed. "Sir, you've got it wrong. When I said we got close, I meant that we have a trust thing going on."

Whiting stared into her eyes. Hermione knew that he was a certified Occlumence. She allowed him to enter her mind, to prove that her relationship with Candy was purely platonic. Once he was satisfied, he retreated. "Right, I apologise for jumping to conclusions. Please proceed."

Hermione smiled at him. "Thank you, sir. Now, as you know, Candy is a hooker. As such, she has access to certain people. Now, about a month ago, when I had a lunch date with her, she told me something that I thought was worth investigating."

Whiting stopped her there. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because sir, it was one of those things that could have been absolutely nothing. If I had told you, there would have been people working on a case that might not have been needed to be worked on. So I decided to see if I could gather some information to make sure that this was worth pursuing before coming to you."

Whiting nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"I trust you know who Warren Darkins is?"

"Yes, of course. We're currently investigating some suspicious looking accounts of his. As you should know – you are working on the case, after all," Whiting replied.

"Right. Well, it turns out, that Mr Darkins pays weekly visits to my friend Candy every Wednesday night at ten thirty."

Whiting leaned forward in his seat.

"Sir, are you aware of a certain object that, at the moment, around twenty people are trying to find, which holds the key to decoding every single one of Darkins files and accounts?"

"You mean the nameless object that he was heard talking about?"

Hermione nodded smugly.

"Hermione, do you mean to tell me that you know what this object is?"

She smirked. "Sir, I can do one better. I've got it in my bag."

Whiting choked on his saliva and dropped his tea cup. It shattered onto the floor. "Merlin! What is it?"

"Uh…it's a dildo sir," she said rather awkwardly.

Her boss raised his eyebrow. "You can hand that to me, and I will send it away to our friends working in that department. Hermione, do you realise that you are now going to be an even bigger star than before?"

Hermione shrugged modestly.

"You can expect a promotion in approximately…" he looked at his watch, "…seven minutes."

"Seven minutes?"

"I have to make myself another cup of tea first."

Hermione laughed. "Of course sir, tea always takes top priority!"

She then left the kitchen and went over to her desk. She sat down and looked at the many pictures she had of Diego on her desk and on her walls. It was his birthday in three months – quite a long way away, but she liked to be ahead of things and she hadn't thought of what to do for him yet.

The two of them had been invited to Harry's apartment for dinner. She would discuss it there as Ron and Ginny would be there too.

Her thoughts were interrupted by an American voice. "Um, excuse me. Are you Hermione Granger?"

She looked up and her breath caught in her throat. There, in her doorway stood a sex god! He had dark brown hair and even darker brown eyes that crinkled slightly at the corners as he smiled. His skin was lightly tanned. The man's body was long, lean and muscular. She gulped. "Y…yes, I'm Hermione Granger. Can I help you?"

"I don't really know. I've just been transferred here from the American Ministry of Magic. I was told to see you because I'm supposed to work with you or something like that. I'm not really sure..." he trailed off.

Hermione didn't say anything. She was too busy staring at his body. Feeling nervous, the man spoke again. "I'm Dan, by the way. Dan Wakefield."

"Right, Dan. Um…come in."

Dan stepped into the office and noticed many pictures of a little boy with blonde hair. Some of pictures were moving, others weren't. That obviously meant that she associate with muggles. "Cute kid," he said. "Is he yours?"

Hermione studied his face. "Yeah, he's my son Diego." Would he run away now?

"He's got your eyes.Very nice eyes."

She blushed. "Whose eyes? Mine or Diego's?" She was shocked that she had said that, but the words had come out before she could stop them. Now, she blushed even more.

Dan saw her red cheeks and laughed. "You've both got gorgeous eyes." He winked at her. Hermione was quite pretty. He was a bit surprised that she had a son, she was only twenty-two, after all, and her son looked like he was four or five. But that didn't put him off. Dan loved kids. He wondered if Hermione was married. "His hair must be his dad's since you've got brown hair."

Hermione's smile faltered a bit. "Diego doesn't have a dad."

This told Dan everything he needed to know. "How about we have lunch together and you can tell me what working with you is going to be like."

"Oh, I've already had lunch. Sorry."

"That's okay. I'll have lunch, and you can watch me eat and tell me what working with you is going to be like." He gave her a charming smile.

"Oh, alright then." As they walked out of the building, Dan held the door open for her. As she passed him, he placed a hand on her lower back as he walked next to her. Hermione would normally have been appalled that a guy would touch her so soon, but Dan's hand felt oddly comforting.

_This is it,_ she thought. _He's The One!

* * *

_

James Whiting walked into Hermione's office to discuss her promotion to find her absent. He asked Dawn at the front desk if she knew where Hermione had gone. He was told that she had left with the new American transfer. He chuckled to himself. No matter how intelligent and mature Hermione seemed, she was a real girl at heart. That girl needed some lovin'!

* * *

Diego sat happily on his bed, looking out his window at the beautiful sky. He had been meeting Draco everyday now, for the past eight days. Each time, Diego would draw another picture for Draco, which he would happily accept. Draco said that he had put two of them on the walls in his office, and five of them in his bedroom at home.

That day, when he had first drawn a picture for Draco, Bess had demanded him to her what was going on. He had started to, but then his mother had come home, later than usual because of a hectic day at work. She had also brought Uncle Ron with her, so Bess had never gotten to hear the part of the story where Draco was involved. After that, she had forgotten to ask him again.

He wasn't going to see Draco today because Draco had said that he was going to be too busy at work. Diego had been disappointed, but Draco said that work had to be given importance too. Because of his daily meetings with Draco, he had requested his mother to allow him to stay at home with Bess. She still didn't know that his friend was Draco Malfoy. In fact, she didn't really know what his friend's name was at all.

Diego thought about how Draco was when he talked on his mobile to people at work. He sounded so different, like kinda mean and strict. At first, it had worried him. What if that was what Draco was really like? But he had soon come to realise that he only talked like that when the calls were work related. Once, Draco's mother had called him. While talking to her, he had sounded really nice and affectionate. He then remembered two days ago when his girlfriend Summer had called. Draco had sounded really annoyed.

Diego had asked what the problem was. Draco replied that Summer was really annoying and that he didn't really like her anymore. Diego had suggested that he dump her. That had surprised Draco. He didn't think that a small boy like Diego would know about girlfriends and boyfriends and dumping, but he did.

When he saw Draco tomorrow, he was going to ask Draco to meet his mother. He was certain they would like each other. Maybe, they would even fall in love! Then he would have a perfect family! He really wanted a dad like Draco.

* * *

Draco was very busy at work. His company, which had originally belonged to his father, invested in many other large and successful companies. Now that his father had decided to retire, the entire weight of Malfoy Inc. fell into Draco's shoulders.

He didn't mind. He liked to be busy. But now that little Diego had come into the picture, he was quite pissed at the fact that he wouldn't have time to see him today. He looked up at his wall. He had stuck two of Diego's drawings there. Everyone who had walked into his office had automatically been to them. They were quite out of place. His secretary, Bonnie, had been the first to say anything about them.

"Why, Mr Malfoy," she had said, "I didn't know you had kids."

He had snapped at her that he didn't have kids and that they were gifts from a child he had befriended at a park. After Bonnie, there had been several other employees commenting on them. No one said anything bad, but Draco was very touchy on the subject – children's drawings in his office looked wrong for his image. But still, he kept them up.

He had five more on his bedroom wall. He had no idea why he was keeping them, instead of throwing them away. He was even more puzzled about the fact that he had created such a strong bond with the child.

Why?

What was so special about him?

He looked at his watch. Time for yet another meeting.

_Sigh.

* * *

_

Hermione couldn't remember a time she had been more besotted with a man. Dan was absolutely amazing. He made her talk a lot about herself, and he would return talk about himself.

They both knew they were attracted to each other and neither fought the feeling. Hermione knew that he was different. He had not been perturbed by the fact she had a child. Diego would love him, she was sure. Dan was definitely The One.

Dan really enjoyed Hermione's company. She was different. Women had always flocked to him because of his physical attractions. Hermione was definitely attracted to him physically, but there was another level to it. They appreciated each other in a different way, they respected each other.

Hermione was the sort of girl he could take home to meet his parents and not be embarrassed about her. She was a very respectable person. Something else that drew him to her even more was the fact that she was so besotted with her son. She was a very caring person. She was perfect.

They were at the restaurant for an hour and a half before they both realised that they hadn't spoken a word about work related matters – the reason for their little lunch date. That was when they decided to head back to the office.

* * *

Once at the office, they didn't have time to resume their personal chat as there was a ton of work to be done, and Dan needed to be trained in the ways of British Organised Crime. But even in work, they would always look at each other and smile when they caught the other's eye.

James Whiting observed each and every smile, blush and nudge. He smiled to himself. Along with being Hermione's superior, he was also a friend of her and Diego. He was one of the few people who knew her story. Now, finally, it seemed that her life would be complete. Dan Wakefield was a good man. They would be happy.

* * *

Bess was washing the dishes when Diego came downstairs seeking some company.

"Aren't you going to the park to meet your friend today?" she asked.

Diego scrambled onto a chair so that he could sit on the kitchen counter. "No, he has to work today." He decided it would be okay to tell Bess about Draco now.

This set of an alarm bell in Bess's head. "Isn't he a little too young to work, honey?"

"No. He's old. He's mummy's age."

Slightly alarmed, Bess asked; "What's his name?"

"Draco."

Bess dropped the plate she was washing. Luckily it didn't break. _It could be someone else,_ she tried to reason with herself. "What's his last name, sweetie?"

"Malfoy." Although Draco hadn't actually told him, when he answered his mobile, he would say; "Malfoy here".

Bess dropped the same plate again. This time it broke. Diego frowned. "Bess, are you okay?"

Bess turned off the tap but didn't bother to clean away the shards of broken china. She turned around slowly, trying to calm herself. _Breathe in, breathe out,_ she chanted under her breath. "Diego, does he know your last name?"

Diego thought. "Um…no. I never told him my last name was Granger."

Bess gave a sigh of relief. So he didn't know who Diego was. Good. "So," she said, "what do you call him? Mr Malfoy?"

"No, I call him Draco. He's really nice. And, he's my best friend."

Bess's heart was racing. This was not good. Not good at all. "Tell me about him."

So he did. From the way Diego described him, Bess had to fight very hard not to like Draco Malfoy. It was obvious that the child was very fond of the man.

When he was finished Bess said, "Would it be okay if I came with you tomorrow so that I can meet Draco myself?"

Diego was pleased. To him, it seemed that Bess had liked Draco so much from what he had said that she wanted to be friends with him too. "Sure. You'll really like him." Bess just smiled.

"Diego, sweetie, I need you to promise me two things okay?"

"Okay, what?"

"You have to promise me that you won't tell your mother about Draco and must not tell Draco your last name. Can you promise me that?"

Diego was confused. "Why?"

Bess looked straight into his eyes. "Do you trust me?"

Diego stared back at her. "Yes."

"Then you have to trust me on this, okay? You have to promise me. You're too young right now to be told everything, but please trust me on this sweetie. Please."

Diego nodded. He didn't understand, but he would trust Bess. "Okay Bess, I trust you and I promise not to tell mummy about Draco and I also promise not to tell Draco my last name."

"Good boy." Bess gave a warm hug. He was such a sweet child.

Tomorrow she would be able to assess Draco Malfoy for herself.

* * *

Writing this fic is soooooooo fun! I just love Diego! He's so cute.

Anyways, thanks to every one of my beautiful reviewers.

BTW, it's now official; I've deleted Bringing Malfoy Down. It wasn't good and I wasn't getting many reviews for it.

Back to my reviewers:

runaway mental patient – a very, very late Happy Australia Day to you too. I'm Aussie too, you see. I live in Brisbane.

dawn1 – glad you thought it was interesting

BrennaM – I know what you mean. I like seeing a soft side of Draco too.

katherose – thanks for reviewing!

Hidden-Me-05 – yeah, you're right. Draco doesn't know that Diego is Hermione's son.

Draco Forever - Don't worry, your English is pretty good. I could understand it just fine. I thing it's really good that you are brave enough to review even though you're not that confident in your English. Lot's of people just don't bother to review because they're too embarrassed or something. So good on you!

Kanui d'Astor – thank you for reviewing

luvfaytdestini – glad you thought it was creative

Oliver's Quidditch Crazy – aww…you really flatter me well. It's a really good boost for my ego! lol I agree on what you said about both Bess's and Draco's character. But I don't think I'm going to use the twist anymore. It's probably for the best, eh?

sporty12gd4u – thanks for reviewing!

i own u eddie stack – yeah, you're one of my favourite reviewers. I don't really why, but, yeah, you are. Maybe 'cause I like you're name so much. I dunno.

dracodolenz :blushes madly: thanks

Mystery-Angel-Me – I'll try

suz - you're probably right

Sherezade-Meisuke – thanx for reviewing

horse-crazy-gurl – I know! Diego is really cute. I'm a genius. Lol

Surrounded By Idiots – that's okay. Hermione and Draco will probably meet in chapter five, possibly six. In the next one, Bess is gonna meet him. So…Ihope that's not too long for you

Samara Potter – Draco and Hermione are about 22 years old.

Anonymous - don't worry, I'm not goning to dixcontinue

Angelbornnhell – awwww…thanks!

RumorGoddess – I'm glad my story is unique. That's what I was hoping it was. I really like your closing sentence.

yanely1167 – yeah, he is, isn't he?

Alexis – I will

LiLy MaLfOy13 – glad you like it

Parcheezie – that's okay. Thanks for reviewing

x1nfernal – hope there was enough Hermione in this for you. She'll be in this more now.

sunshine - thanx for reviewing!

Eliot Z. Wheatherbee – glad you like it

sexy-jess – yeah, I loved that part too!

Crimson-Lies :blush: thanks - loving the name

scholcomp25 – glad you thought it was interesting.

Red Satin and Black Silk – I agree!

trapped-in-a-dream – they'll meet soon! I think I said it before, um…in chapter five or six. In the next one, Bess is gonna meet him

Sucker For Romance – thanks for reviewing

TheUsedObsession – really? Wow, thanks :blushes furiously:


	4. A Handsome Young Man, I Mean, Bastard

**The Apple of My Eye**

**Summary:** Diego is Hermione's son. He doesn't have a father. While playing at the park, he meets a very nice man called Draco. Hermione is unaware of her son's new friend. Then one day, she spies him sitting on the lap of a man she never wanted to see again.

**Disclaimer:** It's surprising I know, but I don't own anything.

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

When Hermione got home that day, everything looked normal. Diego and Bess were watching TV together. There was a bowl of chips on the kitchen counter. She knew that a few minutes ago this bowl had been on her precious carpet, being consumed by the two apparently innocent faces watching TV. So, if everything was normal, why did her gut say that she was being kept in the dark about something?

It was probably something trivial, so Hermione shrugged it off and joined them in front of the TV. Though her eyes were glued to the screen, her thoughts were on Dan. She was surprised that they had gotten so close to each other after only spending a few hours together. She promised herself that she would take it slowly. She felt someone sit next to her and saw that Diego had moved from the floor to sit beside her.

"Hi honey," she said, "how was your day?"

Diego just shrugged. Ever since he had promised Bess that he wouldn't tell his mummy about Draco, he had felt weird. He wanted to shout out to the world that Draco was his best friend, but he couldn't.

Sensing that Diego's mind was troubled, Hermione just pulled her son to her side and said nothing. She knew her son well. All he needed was a comforting presence and she could give him that.

Bess watched the mother and son out of the corner of her eye. Her heart felt heavy. She was going to meet Draco Malfoy the next day. Hopefully, Diego would lose interest in the man and they all go back to their lives normally. But in her heart of hearts, Bess knew that wasn't going to happen. She knew that their world was soon going to be turned upside down.

* * *

Draco was exhausted. His day had been extremely hectic. But it had reaped its fruits. For that at least he was thankful. Now, he was lying on his bed in his boxers even though it was only six thirty in the afternoon. He wasn't planning of actually sleeping yet, but his back needed rest. He didn't want to become a cripple at such a young age.

But somehow, he felt that the day had not been complete. He had a nagging feeling that it was because he hadn't seen Diego. He kept cursing himself for becoming so attached to the kid. He was twenty-two and Diego was only five and a half. It was wrong. Draco didn't even know the kid's mother. What if she disapproved of their friendship?

With these thoughts in his mind, Draco drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_He had to see Diego again. Otherwise he would not be able to sleep. Inside, he knew that the kid felt the same way he did. He drove his car to his street. He had no idea which house was Diego's, so he just drove up and down the street._

_A house, three buildings away from the park, caught his eye. It was a normal-looking house in this affluent suburb. It was pretty. It was a big two-storey building with a big, well looked after garden. His gut told him that this was the house. He stopped the car and got out._

_Slowly, as if in a trance, he walked up the stairs to the front door. He peered through the stained glass on the door. He could see three figures. One big one and one small one were sitting on a sofa. Another big figure was sitting on the floor. He knew that the small figure was Diego._

_He raised his hand to the doorbell. But before his fingers could touch the button, he found himself in a sort of limbo. There was no ground or sky. All around him was some sort of smoky-white cloud. In the distance, he could see a woman with medium-length brown hair. He couldn't see her face. She was clutching the hand of a small child. The child was crying and calling his name. He realised with a jolt that the child was Diego. He tried to rush over to him, but he couldn't move._

_The woman began shouting. "Stay away from him Malfoy! Don't you dare come near my son or I will kill you with my bare hands! You're nothing but a filthy bastard!"_

_Diego cried even harder. Draco tried to speak, but no sound came out. He was totally immobilised. The woman's voice was familiar, but he couldn't match a face or name to it._

_Suddenly, an elderly woman appeared. She shook her head disapprovingly. He wasn't sure who she disapproved of. With one more pitying look at both him and the woman, she walked over to Diego and pried him out of the woman's hand. She led him away, talking softly to him. "It'll be okay darling. Let them sort it out. It'll all be okay."_

_Together, Diego and the old woman walked out of sight. But just before losing sight of him, Diego turned around and looked one last time at him and his mother. With a little wave, he turned back to the old lady and walked with her into the distance._

_He stared after them until he heard a whizzing noise. He looked in the direction of Diego's mother. Flying towards him was a jewelled knife. Before he could react, it plunged deep into his heart._

_Pain shot through his body and red filled his eyes. He looked back at the lady. She had disappeared. He was alone. Then, as if an angel had flown to his side, Diego was holding his hand, telling him to relax. Behind him was the child's mother. Fear seized him. Would she hurt him again?_

_No. She was different now. "Show me your face," he requested to her._

_Slowly, she lowered her face to his and smiled._

_It couldn't be. But it was. He gasped in shock and bolted upright.

* * *

_

Draco opened his eyes and realised that he was back in his bedroom. The dream was still vivid in his mind. But he couldn't remember the face of Diego's mother. He strained himself and tried until his head started hurting. What did this all mean? Was it a warning of some sort?

It was now eight thirty. He decided to have dinner and then maybe go back to sleep. Draco felt quite confused. He wanted to have the same dream again so that he could see who Diego's mother was. She seemed so familiar. But on the other hand, he didn't want to experience it again because Diego's obvious distress in the dream tore his heart to pieces.

Downstairs, Draco sat at the large dining table. It seated up to thirty people and it had been used many times over the past few centuries by the Malfoy family for various functions. His parents had decided to move to Scotland, where they had a holiday mansion because it was more relaxing there. Malfoy Manor, Malfoy Inc and all the other assets owned by Lucius had been passed on to Draco.

He had considered many times just selling the estate and buying a fancy apartment somewhere. After all, he didn't live with anyone so the place was way too big. But the heritage of the house – and the memories, held him back. How could he just sell a part of history? True, most of it was dark, but it was his family. So Draco lived alone with two house elves to keep him company.

A few minutes later, Tinkle, one of his house elves, brought him his dinner. He breathed in the aroma of the freshly cooked lasagne. Suddenly feeling ravenous, Draco shovelled the food into his mouth. His dream kept entering his mind. It was so strange. He forcefully pushed it out of his mind. If he was going to do so much thinking, he might as fell do it on something useful.

After his meal, Draco entered his study and began looking at the Wakefield deal. If he could snag this – and he was certain he could – it would be the most profitable deal his family had made in almost a century. One thing he knew for certain was that his father would be very proud and that meant a lot to him. Throughout his childhood, his father had wanted him to be the best at everything but for some reason Draco would always pull in second. Whether it was Quidditch, where Potter was the star or in his school work, in which the prissy little mudblood would excel. What made his father even more disappointed was that neither Potter nor Granger were purebloods.

Turning back to the deal, Draco perused his notes and the articles he had collected to make sure that there were no catches. Daniel Wakefield was growing old and wanted his son Daniel Jnr to take over. Dan Jnr, who had been living in America until very recently, had no intention of taking over the family business. The business dealt with the relocation of dangerous magical animals. Dan thought it was stupid.

When Draco had first approached old Wakefield for a take-over deal, he had slammed the door in his face – literally. He wanted the business to remain in the family. Through various social contacts, Draco had learned that his son, Dan Jnr, didn't want the business. So, Draco, being the persistent charmer that he was, had made a personal trip to America to discuss things with him.

It had worked. Dan was more than willing to give away the business. But he didn't want his father to know so he had promised to hand over the business as soon as his father had passed away, which wouldn't take very long as the old bastard was terminally ill had was at that very moment immobilised at St Mungo's. He had been given two months to live. Normally, Draco would have felt some sort of compassion towards such a sick person, but he had an intense disliking of the man.

Through this deal, Draco had been in constant contact with Dan and they had forged a strong friendship. In fact, Draco had been the first person to see him once he had moved to England – and his reasons had nothing to do with the deal. Was it a crime to pay a visit to a friend?

Draco was startled out of his thoughts be the presence of another person in the room. Turning around, he was surprised to see his father standing at the door with a sour expression on his face.

"Father! What a pleasant surprise!"

Lucius just scowled. "Would you mind telling me what these are?" In his hands were the pictures Diego had drawn him.

"_Oh fuck!"

* * *

_

Hermione was singing in the shower as she got ready the next morning. She applied her make-up more carefully and made sure that her hair looked respectable for a change. She hadn't been so happy for a long time. She was so happy that she didn't realise that her son was still miserable about something.

Diego, who was still feeling depressed felt even worse when his mummy came bounding down the stairs looking prettier than usual singing a song he had never heard before. Why was she so happy? Feeling confused, he was silent throughout breakfast and when Hermione kissed him goodbye, he didn't hug her back.

When Bess arrived, she found him curled up in a ball crying his little heart out on the kitchen floor.

After many hugs, kisses and a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows, Diego's sobs had subsided. Bess studied him over her coffee. He was truly miserable and she knew that it was because he was forbidden to tell his mother about Draco. If she hadn't made him promise not to, he probably wouldn't have told her anyway, but Bess had to make sure that things didn't get too sticky too soon. And this had made Diego feel like walls had been placed all around him.

Bess felt tears build up in her eyes. It wasn't fair on him. He was still a baby. _The world is so unfair,_ she thought bitterly.

Diego spent the whole morning just watching TV. Although his eyes never left the screen, he never actually _saw_ what was going on. He just watched the reflection of the clock on the screen, waiting for four o'clock to arrive.

* * *

Hermione walked into the office with a spring in her step. Today she was going to spend the whole day on paper work. And paper work had never looked so exciting before. You know why? Because Dan was going to do it with her!

When she walked into her office, she was surprised to see that Dan was already there, sorting out various files. He looked up at her when he saw her arrive and flashed another smile. "Hi there, boss."

"Hi there, partner," Hermione corrected him. "Why have you started so early? It's not even nine o'clock."

"I know," he grinned again, "but I just thought that if I finished all this annoying paper work quickly, then I could take my very attractive partner out for lunch."

"Smooth Wakefield, very smooth."

"I know I am. So, what do you say about…Oh, shit!" Dan cringed. How could he have forgotten?

"What?"

"Well, actually Hermione, I, uh, can't take you out to lunch because I've got a prior arrangement to meet a friend of mine," he looked a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, right. Um, I wouldn't want to stop you from meeting her." Hermione silently cursed herself. How could she have been so stupid to think that a guy like Dan Wakefield wouldn't have a girlfriend?

"No, no! Hermione, I'm not meeting my girlfriend. I don't have one," he met her eye as he said this and made her blush. "I'm meeting my best friend. He's a guy."

"Oh…" was all Hermione could say. She felt really stupid. Finally she said, "Who's your best friend?"

"Oh, Draco Malfoy."

Hermione was stunned to say the least. Draco Malfoy? As in Ferret Face? Dan's best friend? "Draco Malfoy is your _best friend_?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, do you know him?"

"Know him? I went to school with him for seven bloody years!"

Dan smiled. "Great! Why don't you join us for lunch then? I'm sure he'd love to see an old school friend."

"Are you crazy?" she hissed. "I swore that I would never see his filthy face again and I intend to do exactly that! We hated each other at school. He called me a filthy mudblood and my friends and I called him Ferret Face."

Dan was confused. "Draco doesn't look like a ferret."

Hermione was about ready to explode. "I _know_ he doesn't!"

"But…but…you said…"

"Just shut up! I don't want to talk about him. He makes me want to tear his bloody head off!"

Dan was now very confused. What had happened to the cool, vibrant Hermione Granger he had fallen in love with the day before? "I'll go get us some coffee," he said, desperate to escape from her in her anger.

When he returned a few minutes later, Hermione had calmed herself down.

"Look, Dan, I'm really sorry…" she began.

"Hey, no worries."

"No, let me explain. You see, I don't go crazy like that unless it's got something to do with Malfoy, because he's special…"

Again Dan interrupted her. "Special? Do you two have a history or something?"

Hermione cringed inwardly. She really had to work on her wording. "No. He's special because no one else makes me so mad."

"Ah…" now he understood. "Um, Hermione, you don't mind if I'm friends with him do you?"

"No." She actually did, but she didn't want to lose Dan just when she had found him.

They worked the rest of the morning in silence, talking only when necessary. But the lack of words didn't mean there was a lack of communication. They would keep flirting with their eyes.

And James Whiting watched it all with a smile on his face.

* * *

When Dan returned from his lunch with Draco, he found Hermione sitting idle in her office, having completed all the paper work.

"Hey there partner," he said.

"Hey there boss," she corrected.

"Boss? Just this morning you were my partner."

"I know," Hermione said smugly, "but I got a promotion."

It was true. When Dan had left, James Whiting had approached her about the promotion he was supposed to have given her the day before. She had requested, however, that her place on the team be given to Dan instead. Working on the Warren Darkins case was going to be very time-consuming job and she felt like she had been neglecting Diego in the last couple weeks. In the time she would save, she would spend more quality time with him.

Dan was thrilled about his place on the team. It was a very high profile case. He had heard about it even in America. He noticed that Hermione had not asked him how his lunch had been. He now understood why. She and Draco hated each other. He had asked Draco about her.

Draco, who was usually very warm towards him, became cold and distant when she was mentioned. Dan had absolutely no idea exactly why they hated each other so much, but he was wise enough to know that it would be suicide to mention one's name while in the other's presence.

Before he knew that Hermione and Draco were enemies, Dan had been prepared to tell Draco that Hermione was the girl of his dreams. But now, he wasn't sure how to tell him, or how he would react.

* * *

Draco was in a bad mood. There were two reasons why.

One: His father had grilled him about Diego, and once he realised that Draco knew absolutely nothing about the child's family, he had forbidden Draco to ever see Diego again. Of course, Draco _was _going to see him, but the fact that his father had just barged into his room and grabbed the pictures off the walls was annoying. Why did he always try to run his life?

Two: Dan Wakefield had started talking about that damn mudblood, Granger. Why? He had absolutely no idea. But it was sure as hell annoying. And he had the nagging feeling that Dan had some feelings for her too. _Poor guy,_ he thought. He had kept badgering Draco about why the two hated each other with a passion until Draco had snapped and hit the table so hard with his fist that his plate of pasta had flown off the table and onto the floor, causing the entire restaurant to turn and see that had caused to famous Draco Malfoy to throw his food around.

Now, an owl tapped on his window. He read the letter and groaned in frustration. It was from Summer, demanding him to accompany her to a family function so that she could announce to everyone that she had managed to hold on to the one and only Draco Malfoy for more than a month – a feat no other girl had ever managed.

He threw the parchment in the bin and barked at his secretary to get him a potion to relieve his head ache.

Why was it that when people decided to annoy him, they all decided to do it at the same time?

* * *

Diego was still lying on his stomach in front of the TV when three o'clock rolled by he had only gotten up to have lunch and go to the bathroom.

By that time, Bess's stomach was in knots. She was very nervous to meet Draco Malfoy. She tried to keep an open mind on him – she hated being biased, but she couldn't help it. Whenever she thought of him, she thought he was an evil git who was good for nothing. In fact, part of Bess didn't want to see him at all. She wanted to forbid Diego to ever see him again, but the rational part of her told her that was a stupid thing to do.

By three thirty, Bess was considering having a few glasses of wine before going to the park.

"Shall we go to the park in fifteen minutes?" she asked Diego.

Diego just nodded, still staring straight ahead at the TV screen. He pulse quickened. He didn't know why he felt so nervous about Bess meeting Draco.

It suddenly occurred to Bess that Diego had been meeting a grown man at the park for eight days and no one had known a thing. Most children would have been boasting about a new friend to anyone who would listen, but Diego hadn't. Though Diego didn't know anything, he obviously _felt_ something. This worried Bess deeply.

As they set off to the park, they held hands. Diego led the way to the bench by the pond. No one was using today. They sat there and waited. Both of them stared at Bess's wrist watch.

Five minutes to go.

_Tick, tick…_

Three minutes.

_Tick, tick…_

Two minutes.

_Tick, tick…_

One minute.

_Tick, tick…_

They both looked up at the same time. Nothing. All they saw was children playing and couples walking along the path, hand in hand.

_Tick, tick…_

Two minutes past.

_Tick, tick…_

Then they saw him. He was walking along the path towards them. He was wearing a navy suit with a white shirt unbuttoned at the top and a loose, slightly patterned red tie.

The first thought that entered Diego's mind was, _He's here!_

The first thought that entered Bess's mind was, _My! What a handsome young man! _Then she mentally kicked herself. _I mean, what a bastard!_

_

* * *

_

Draco was running about five minutes late. It wasn't his fault. The amount of traffic on the roads was ridiculous! His father disapproved of him driving a car, in fact, his father disapproved of anything muggle. That was one of the factors in his retirement. Many muggle devices were now being used in the wizarding world, like mobile phones and computers.

Draco loved his car. It was a silver Mercedes Sports Coupe. He loved driving; it was quite soothing for him. Not quite as good as a broom, but close enough.

As he made his way down the path, towards the bench by the pond, Draco suddenly felt very self-conscious, like he was going to a press conference where what he was wearing and what he said were going to be major factors in the outcome of the event.

As he rounded a corner, the bench came into view. Sitting there was Diego. Curiously, there was also a woman sitting next to him. He drew closer and saw that the woman was too old to be Diego's mother, but you never knew these days – people did all sorts of crazy things. For some reason she seemed familiar, but he didn't know why. He was certain her had never met her before. Maybe he had seen her on the streets somewhere.

Then he realised that the woman was watching him. The self-conscious feeling came over him again.

"Hi," he said nervously.

The woman just stared coldly at him. Diego, on the other hand, bounded over to Draco and threw his arms around his waist. "Hiya, Draco!"

Draco hugged him back and then pulled him up so that he was carrying him. "I've got you something."

Diego's eyes lit up. "Really! What is it?"

Draco put a hand in his pocket and came out with a large, round lollipop with bright swirling colours. "I thought you might like this."

Diego was so happy that no words came out of his mouth.

Draco took this as an opportunity to joke around a bit. "I guess you don't like it," he sighed, "I'll just have to throw it in the bin then." He moved as though to throw the candy away, but Diego grabbed it out of his hand, while at the same time throwing himself around Draco's neck.

"Thank you, oh, thank you, Draco!" the little boy squealed in delight.

Draco just laughed and hugged him back.

Bess watched the whole exchange, a bit shocked. She had never expected that Malfoy would be so…_nice_…and…well…_caring._ She now looked at the man in a different light. No longer was he just a monster, he was now a man who had captivated Diego's heart. Now that she had seen this nice side of him, Bess trusted herself to talk to him without first clawing his eyes out.

"Diego!" she chided, "you can't just take gifts like that! What have you given Mr Malfoy?

Draco turned to her and smiled, pleased that she wasn't going to stay hostile. "Please, it's Draco. And don't worry. Diego had given me plenty of gifts."

"Oh, has he now? What exactly is it that he has given you?"

"Well, he's quite the artist. He's given me six or seven little drawings, two of which are pinned up on the walls in my office."

"What about the other four or five?" she asked.

"Those are on the walls of my bedroom."

Bess could feel herself warming up to him. "And pray tell why you've got the drawings of a child you met but a week ago pinned onto your walls?"

Draco set Diego down and grinned sheepishly. "It kinda hard to explain."

"I'm a good listener so you can try me."

Draco could see that the old lady was not going to give up on him anytime soon so he said, "How about we grab a bite to eat while I tell you?"

Diego was all for the idea and pleaded with Bess to allow them to get something to eat. Laughing at Diego's face as he pleaded excitedly, Bess relented.

They bought sandwiches at the deli across the road from the park and talked and talked. Draco tried to explain why he felt so close and attached to Diego to Bess, while she listened intently.

After eating, the three of them went back to the park and went to the jungle gym, which Diego happily played. After constant pleading from Diego, and a few playful nudges by Bess, Draco too joined Diego on the equipment

Then, as was the now the custom for the two boys, they bought some bread and went to the pond to feed the ducks.

They finally parted at five-thirty. As Bess walked home with Diego, her mind was in turmoil. She really liked Draco. But it wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to be a bastard!

She was startled to see that Hermione was home, but it was five-thirty after all. She would have come home from work a half hour ago.

Inside, Hermione was playing muggle music, which was strange because she never did that. At the moment, Britney Spears' voice was belting out of the speakers as Hermione sang with her.

"_You drive me crazy!" _

Bess laughed at her off-key voice. She laughed even harder as Diego attempted to sing with his mother. He failed horribly as he didn't know the words.

Fortunately, Hermione didn't ask too much about what they had done at the park. To make sure that Diego didn't let anything slip, Bess stayed for dinner and left only after he had gone to bed.

As she drove home, she wondered how long Draco's friendship with Diego would be a secret from Hermione.

* * *

Wow! That's my longest chapter yet! And I can't believe I got _99_ reviews! _Whoop! Whoop!_

I haven't got time to respond to all my reviewers now, but I promise that I will in the next chapter.

I'll try and update once a week and I know that I should have been writing Unfortunate Fates instead of this, but I couldn't help it. My head's just full of ideas for this fic!

Till next time,

A vision of violets


	5. Forbidden

**The Apple of My Eye**

**Summary:** Diego is Hermione's son. He doesn't have a father. While playing at the park, he meets a very nice man called Draco. Hermione is unaware of her son's new friend. Then one day, she spies him sitting on the lap of a man she never wanted to see again.

**Disclaimer:** It's surprising I know, but I don't own anything.

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

As Draco drove home that afternoon, his mind started to wander. It suddenly occurred to him, that while talking to Bess, he had learned absolutely nothing about her, or Diego's family. Why? Was she hiding something from him?

Then there was Diego himself. Why was he so attached to the child? What was it that drew Draco to him like a moth to a light? Looking back now, Draco could see that some could mistake his fast friendship with the child as pedophilic.

These thoughts confused and scared him. He was Draco Lucius Malfoy, the heir to the largest fortune in the wizarding world. Little boys were not supposed to make him feel affectionate and caring. It was wrong! Perhaps he should just stop seeing the boy? No. That would be too painful to them both.

Then there was that dream. What the hell was that all about? All he knew that was the Diego's mother, whoever she was, had some role to play in all this.

**

* * *

**

Hermione woke up the next day just as happy as she was the day before. Why? She didn't know. Actually, she did. Dan. Sweet, loveable Dan. Hermione knew she was acting like a lovesick teenager, but could it be helped? She was in love! Dan was her dream man!

When she went down to breakfast, she saw that Diego was already pouring milk into two cereal bowls. She leant down and gave him a big smooch in the cheek. "Good morning sweetie!" she said, falling ungracefully into a chair. Diego looked at her and grinned.

"You look very pretty this morning, mummy," he said a little shyly.

"Thank you sweetie. So, what have you got planned for today?"

"Uh, I think Bess and I are going to the park."

"Ooooo…that should be fun!"

The two lapsed into silence and continued eating their breakfast. Hermione wondered if now was the right time to tell Diego about Dan. She probably shouldn't say that he was her boyfriend, but just introduce him as a friend or something. It would be a good idea to introduce them soon because if Diego didn't like Dan, then there really would be no point in pursuing the relationship.

"Hey Diego, hunny?"

"Mmmm?" Diego answered with a mouth full of cereal.

"Would you like to meet a new friend of mine today?"

"Yesh. Washt hesr namsh?"

"Diego!" Hermione scolded, "How many times have you been told not to talk with your mouth full?"

Diego swallowed and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. What's her name?"

"Uh…. It's a he…." Hermione trailed off uncomfortably.

Diego just stared at her. He wasn't dumb. He knew that his mother now had a boyfriend, but he pretended that he didn't know. "Cool!" he said, breaking into a smile. "What's his name?"

"Dan Wakefield."

"Can I meet him today?"

"I'll ask him. He may be busy, but I'm sure he'd love to come over."

**

* * *

**

When Bess came over, Diego was watching TV again. After their customary welcomes, Diego settled back to his television shows and Bess pulled out yet another soppy romance novel. They both sat like that for the next few hours, comforted by each other's presence.

It was only when lunchtime came around that the two picked up a conversation. Naturally, it was about Draco.

"Bess?" Diego began.

"Hmm?"

"Why can't I tell mummy about Draco?"

Bess looked at Diego's small face and contemplated whether or not tell him. He was only five, he wouldn't understand the whole story, but maybe he should know a bit. "Well hunny, your mother and Draco already know each other."

"But if they know each other, then why can't I tell mummy about him, or tell Draco about mummy?" Draco wanted to know.

"Because sweetie, they don't like each other."

"Why not? They're both the nicest people I know. Except for you of course," he added quickly.

Bess smiled. "Yes, they are very nice people. But you see, they both went to Hogwarts together…"

"Is Draco a wizard too?"

"Yes, he is."

"Oh! Hogwarts? Is that the wizarding school mummy went to?"

"Yes. Yes it is."

"Bess? How come you never went to Hogwarts?" Diego asked.

"Because I'm not a witch, darling. I'm a muggle," Bess replied.

"Oh…..Am I a witch?" the boy wanted to know.

Bess laughed. "No sweetie, your not a witch! You're a wizard. Witches are girls and wizards are boys."

"Oh…..But Bess, what if I'm a…a…Squ…Squit?"

"You mean a Squib?"

"Yeah…that."

Bess couldn't help but feel a sudden surge of affection for the child. "Diego, you wouldn't be a squib because, well, both your parents are very powerful witches and wizards. And I can already see that you possess some magic."

"How?"

"Do you remember that time mummy wouldn't give you the candy you wanted and you got so angry that the windows broke?"

"Oh, yeah, I remember," Diego blushed remembering the incident that had occurred just two months before. "Bess, could you please tell me more about mummy and Draco? Why did they hate each other?"

"Well, when your mother was at school, people were very conscious about who was a pureblood and who wasn't. Do you remember what mummy told you about purebloods, half-bloods and muggle-borns?"

Diego nodded.

"Right, well, Draco is a pureblood and your mother is a muggleborn. In those days, Draco would be mean to mummy because of that."

"But Draco would never do anything like that!" Diego interrupted.

"Well, I'm sure he wouldn't now, but back then, he did. Anyway, because he was mean to mummy and her friends, they would be mean back to Draco and his friends. They were always fighting."

Diego looked thoughtful. "So, do you think that if I told mummy about Draco she would get mad and tell me not to be friends with him?"

"I'm sure of it."

"Then how can I ever tell her?"

Bess thought for a moment. "Well, I have a feeling that everyone will find out everything soon. I guess we'll just have to wait. Just remember not to talk to Draco about mummy and not to talk to mummy about Draco, okay?"

"Yes, Bess."

They ate the rest of their lunch in silence. While Bess washed the dishes, Diego once again sat in front of the TV.

"Diego," Bess called, "you're going to ruin your eyes if you watch TV all the time."

"Just this one time, please?" Diego pleaded.

Finally, Bess relented. She was in no mood to play the role of the bossy babysitter.

When three o'clock rolled by, Diego came bounding into the kitchen where Bess was reading her novel. "Bess? Can we go to the park now?"

"Now?" Bess asked, glancing at the kitchen clock.

"Yeah, I want to go early, so I can spend more time at the park."

"Um…sure."

They both put on their shoes and began the short walk to the park.

**

* * *

**

Hermione smiled at herself in the mirror. She was in love. Giggling like a schoolgirl, she thought of the day she had had with Dan. As the day before, he had already begun sorting out paperwork by the time she had arrived. They had finished it quickly, chatting the whole time. Dan was an incredibly sweet man, inquiring about Diego fondly and behaved like a real gentleman, always letting her walk out of the door before him and so forth. The only fault she could find in Dan was that he did not share her wicked sense of humor. But that was okay. No man was perfect.

Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was three o'clock. She slapped herself mentally. She had told Dan that she was going to the ladies' room to freshen up twenty minutes ago, and here she was daydreaming about him, standing idle.

Quickly splashing water on her face, she carefully reapplied her make-up. Picking up her mascara, she grimaced. Mascara was the one thing she hated. For some reason, she could never apply it properly. Trying to keep her hand steady, she cautiously brought the brush to her eyelashes. Ever-so-slowly, she swept the brush over her lashes, trying not to poke her eyes out. For one of the first times in history, Hermione was successfully applying her mascara, when suddenly, Lauren, one of her colleagues pushed into the room. Gasping slightly, Hermione dropped her mascara brush…right onto her white blouse.

"Fucking hell!" she exclaimed.

Lauren's face was extremely apologetic. "Oh my god, Hermione, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you."

Embarrassed at her outburst, Hermione struggled to remain calm. "Not to worry, it's not your fault." Afraid she might cry, she pushed past Lauren and went out into the hall. Leaning against the wall, she buried her face in her hands. It was a very small matter, but she somehow felt that Dan would think badly of her. He would probably think that she was trying to put on more make-up to impress him, which she was, but he didn't need to know that.

"Hermione?"

She looked up to see Dan standing in front of her, a frown on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just got a headache is all," she rubbed her temples for emphasis.

"Let me get you an aspirin." Hermione followed him to the office kitchen and waited patiently as he collected a tablet and a glass of water. As she swallowed the medicine, she saw Dan's gaze flick down to the large black stain on her shirt. Her mind raced through possible excuses to come up with, but surprisingly, he didn't utter a word.

Now, it must be explained that the stain was on the collar of her shirt, just above where her breasts started. Hermione wanted to see if his gaze would move from the mark to her bosom. Astonishingly, his eyes moved straight back to her face, without moving down even the slightest bit. Now Hermione was certain that Dan was the right man. Clearly, he was not attracted to her for her sex appeal alone.

Hermione walked over to the sink and placed the glass in it. She walked back to Dan and gave him a kiss and the cheek. "Thanks for that," she said. With that, she walked past him, back to her office.

Dan just stood there stunned. Did what he thought just happen, happen? _Whoa!_ So he _was _reading all the signs right. There was no mistaking it now. "Whoop!" he exclaimed, punching the air with his fist.

James Whiting, whose office was just down the hall, peeked his head out his door. "You okay there, Dan?" he asked.

Dan flashed him a big grin. "Oh, yeah. I'm just great chief!" Still smiling, he moon walked back to his office. Plopping down onto his chair, he beamed up at the ceiling, the muggle song, "Love is in the Air," dancing around in his head.

**

* * *

**

Draco was in a bad mood. Summer had shown up at his office, in the middle of an important meeting, demanding to see him, tears streaming down her face. It had been extremely embarrassing. He had excused himself and went to see what the matter was.

As it turned out, Summer's "catastrophe" was that she couldn't find her special midnight blue silk dress robes, with real diamond embroidery. Did she want money to buy another one? No. Did she want him to help her find it? No. So what _did_ she want? "Oh, Draco, I knew you would be supporting and understanding at my plight, so I came to you straight away. You always were a good listener," was her reply.

Draco had yelled at her and thrown a couple of books across the room. This is what she had embarrassed him for? Summer had huddled in a corner in fear. He was terrifying when enraged. "Are you going to dump me?" she had asked, her voice quivering with apprehension.

Draco had been about to shout out "YES!" when another idea had pooped into his head. It would be cruel, yes, but this bitch deserved it. He smirked. "No, I'm not going to."

Summer's eyes widened in shock. "You're not?"

"No."

She ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, Draco, I love you!"

Draco stood there stiffly and didn't answer. But Summer was elated. _The_ Draco Malfoy had forgiven her for a mistake! This was something no other girl had managed to achieve!

When Draco returned to the conference room, the others in the meeting noticed that his manner was a lot cooler and more business-like. But no one dared question him or even ask if he was okay.

Now, Draco was sitting by himself at a snazzy little bar in Wizarding London. He was glad of his solitude - it allowed him to think.

Tonight was that wretched family get together of Summer's. He would go, albeit reluctantly, but he knew it would be worth it in the end. Summer would pay for the humiliation she had caused him. And it wasn't just the incident that had occurred in the morning, she was an extremely clingy, desperate person and Draco was fed up with her. He had heard her, countless times, telling her little gossip groups that they were going to marry or that he, Draco, was always confessing his love to her, being sweet and so forth. In fact, Summer was the worst girlfriend he had ever had. She had no independence. The only reason they had been together this long was because of his laziness. But it would all end tonight.

His thoughts then turned to whom his next girlfriend would be. He could pick and choose them, as there were literally hundreds of young women who worshiped the ground he walked on. They were all willing to please him, which was good. But Draco wanted someone more meaningful. A girl who could provide him that intellectual sparing that he craved for. And still match him in bed.

His Hogwarts days came back to him. They had been the good old days. Potter and his gang had been the biggest pain in the ass it was true. But it had been a healthy hate relationship. Though, at that time, they had cursed each other to no end, wishing each other painful deaths, but now looking back, they were fond memories to him. That didn't mean that he was willing to be buddies with the Golden Trio or anything. Oh no. But he was behaving civilly towards ex-Gryfindors and vice versa.

Only last week, he had run into the Patil twins at Flourish and Blotts. They had chatted over a cup of coffee about life after Hogwarts. Of course, the twins already knew almost everything about him because 1) he was in at least three different magazines every month, not to mention the double page spread dedicated to him alone every week in the Daily Prophet, and 2) because they were social acquaintances with all his past, present and future beaus.

The twins had filled him in on all the gossip on their old schoolmates. Seamus Finnigan was preparing to wed Ginny Weasley, against the wishes of his father. Hannah Abbot had turned down the position for Head of Magical Cooperation to lead the life of a hermit in the Himalayas. They spent a good two hours talking until the topic of conversation turned to the Golden Trio. Draco lost the twins for a few minutes as they cooed about Hermione Granger's son, whose name was David, or something. No one except Granger's closest friends knew who the father of the child was. _Probably some drunk retard,_ he had thought.

Draco had seen Granger numerous times at social gatherings. They never spoke to each other unless they had to. He had never seen her with a child, but that was natural as no one ever brought children to such events. He didn't know what to think of her anymore. She was no longer a nerdy bookworm. Granger was by no means stunningly beautiful. But she was now comfortable with herself and seemed to enjoy being in the middle of the social buzz with paparazzi and all. He remembered that she had been absent for a year and a half from all social gatherings. Probably because she got pregnant. The timing, though, had made him uneasy. She had obviously gotten pregnant at the end of the seventh year. That was strange for two reasons. One, this was Hermione Granger. Two, well, there was no point getting into that.

_Hmmm…_Draco snapped himself out of his reverie and glanced again at his watch. Three thirty. _Time to go._ As Draco walked out of the bar, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw Dan Wakefield exit the Organised Crime. He was about to holler, when a woman came out right behind him. It was Granger. They linked arms, and began walking towards him. They were quite far, and Draco was sure they hadn't seen him yet. Turning, he walked briskly in the other direction. He wasn't in the mood for being around Granger.

"Draco!"

_Damn!_ Dan was calling after him.

Draco quickened his pace.

"Hey, Draco! Wait up man!"

Draco pulled out his wand and was about to apparate, when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. Spinning around, he saw Dan was right behind him.

"Watcha running off for man?" Dan asked, panting from his short sprint.

"Uh…I wasn't running off," Draco said.

"Dude, I was calling you."

"I didn't hear you," Draco said smoothly.

By this time, Hermione who had chosen not to run after Draco, had caught up to them.

"Hello, Malfoy," she said politely.

"Hello, Granger," he said with a refined tilt of his head. "I really must go now."

"Do you want to grab a bite with us first?" Dan asked.

"Dan, if he has to go, I don't think it would be appropriate for us to hold him back," Hermione interjected.

Dan looked at her reproachingly. "Hermione, don't be silly, Draco's my friend." He looked at Draco. "Will you join us for a while?"

Draco stared hard at Hermione, who openly met his gaze. "No, Granger has a point. I'm already late for an appointment." That said, he quickly apparated back to his office.

Dan stared at the spot Draco had stood, his mouth agape. "I don't understand. Draco's never like this. And you too! I've never seen either of you so…so…_rude!_"

Hermione gave him a tight smile. "Don't worry. I told you before that we bring out the worst in each other."

Still shaking his head, unsure about what had just happened, Dan allowed Hermione to lead him towards the very same bar Draco had just departed.

**

* * *

**

When Draco pulled his car into a parking position the clock on his dashboard just turned four. He stepped out and scanned the park. He spotted a flash of bright blonde hair on the jungle gym. He smiled. Seeing Diego seemed to elate him for some reason.

As he got closer, he watched Diego swinging happily across the monkey bars. When he spotted Draco, he immediately let go, dropping down to the ground and ran over to him.

"Draco!" he said, his voice muffled as his face was pressed into Draco's stomach.

**

* * *

**

Hermione waked hand in hand with Dan down the street towards her house. Dan had agreed to come over that afternoon. Diego was sure to love him. When she walked into the house though, only Bess was sitting on the couch.

She introduced Dan and when they settled down for tea, Bess told her that Diego was still at the park.

"Shouldn't you be with him?" Dan asked, worried that such a young child would be left alone.

"Oh, no," Hermione laughed. "Diego's very mature for his age, besides, the park's just a few houses away."

Bess nodded. "I did go with him, but then I came back to bake some cookies. Which reminds me, they must have cooled down by now, I'll go get them."

As Bess moved into the kitchen, her mind again was in turmoil. She was glad that Hermione had finally found happiness in a man. And this Dan fellow was obviously a very decent sort. Still, with Draco now in the picture, Bess wasn't sure what to think about anything anymore.

**

* * *

**

Draco sat on the bench and watched Diego climb over the equipment. He was obviously very talented and fit. The way he nimbly ran over, under and around things, artfully dodging other children made this obvious. Diego had met one of his friends; a boy called Sam and introduced him to Draco. They had played cops and robbers together, until Sam had had to go home.

Draco was content just watching the child.

Meeting him almost every afternoon was just what he needed after hectic days at work. He smiled to himself.

**

* * *

**

"I'll just go and get Diego form the park now," Bess said, "It's getting late now."

"No, I'll go get him," Hermione insisted.

"I'll come with you," Dan volunteered.

Hermione gave him a meaningful glance. "I think I should get him alone."

Dan backed down. "Sure."

When Hermione stepped out, she was hit with a cold blast of air. It was getting cold now. Pulling her jacket around herself, she walked towards the park.

**

* * *

**

Diego was happily swinging along the monkey bars again, his favourite piece of equipment. He glanced back at Draco, to see if he was watching. Seeing that he was, Diego grinned. Unfortunately, he didn't notice his old friend Jack start form the other side. He just turned his face back around when a hard boot connected with his cheek.

Pain shot through his face. Instinctively, he brought both hands to his cheek and dropped to the ground as a result.

Draco saw the whole thing in slow motion. Diego had just turned his face when Draco realised that the other boy was coming from the other side. He tried to warn Diego, but no sound came out of his mouth.

As Diego began his decent to the ground, Draco ran forward, hands stretched forward. He was vaguely aware that all the other kids stopped playing and watched silently, parents too, looked on.

He moved his hands under the child's falling body and he nearly fell forward at the impact. Suddenly, everything seemed to move again, and sound was returned. A concerned mother came over.

"That was amazing, you know. You have very fast reflexes," she smiled at them. "Are you okay?" she asked Diego.

Tears streamed down his face, but he managed a nod and a weak smile. As the lady moved away, Draco moved back over to the bench and set Diego onto it. Straightening up, he looked for the boy that had kicked him. He finally spotted him, but the boy was already running out of the park.

Sighing, he sat down beside Diego and put his arm around him. Still sobbing, Diego climbed back onto Draco's lap and they held each other tight.

**

* * *

**

Hermione reached the park and looked around for her son. Suddenly, a boy ran past her, almost knocking her to the ground. _Kids these days, _she thought to herself.

Looking up again, she spotted Diego sitting on a bench near the equipment. She then saw that he was crying. Worried, she started forward, when a man moved into her line of vision. He sat down next to Diego and put his arm around him. _What the hell?_ She stopped, confused. Who was this guy? She looked hard, and saw that the man had the same blonde hair as Diego. Hermione stopped breathing. It couldn't be.

But it was. It was _him_. What was he doing here?

Suddenly, she remembered what he had said earlier; "_I'm already late for an appointment."_ It all made sense now. Diego was always looking forward to going to the park now. She remembered when he was telling her about his new friend. She hadn't been listening properly and had assumed that the friend's name was David, as it was a common name. But it wasn't. It was Draco.

Feeling numb, she took a few steps back, not realising that she was now standing on the road. Her vision went blurry. How could this have happened? Did he know? Did Diego know? _Fucking hell!_

A loud horn brought her back to the present. She realised that she was standing on the road, as a car swerved to avoid her, the driver giving her the finger as he passed.

Mechanically, she walked to the other side of the road. She looked back into the park, not fully comprehending what she was seeing. Was that really Draco Malfoy embracing Diego? Yes it was.

She sank down into the front lawn of somebody's house and buried her face in her hands. Why? Why was this happening?

Anger swept through her. She moved forward, prepared to tear Diego out of his grasp. But she stopped herself. She knew that in her present state, she would most likely cause major bodily harm to Malfoy, which she would rather do when they weren't in a park full of people.

Again, another horn startled her and she realised that she was once again standing on the road. This time, various people looked in her direction, as it was unusual for so many horns to beep in the same place at such short intervals.

She glanced at Malfoy and saw his head start to rise. Panicking, she quickly turned and ran back towards her house, nearly getting run over by another car. She sprinted as fast as she could in her low heels with tears streaming down her face.

**

* * *

**

Draco held the sobbing boy tightly, trying to be as comforting as possible. He heard a car honk, but didn't bother looking up. It was probably a kid, running haphazardly across the road. When he heard another horn a few seconds later, he thought it odd. He looked up and saw that a woman was running away from the park. _Odd._ She seemed familiar, but she was too far away to recognize. Shrugging it off, he turned his attention back to the distraught child in his arms.

**

* * *

**

Hermione ran into the house and slammed the door shut. Bess and Dan, who were chatting in the lounge, looked up, startled.

"Where's Diego?" Bess asked. When Hermione didn't answer, she got up, worried. "What happened child?"

Hermione only sobbed in response. "Hermione! _What happened?_" Bess demanded. Dan could only watch on. He didn't know what to do.

"Diego…_sob_…he's…_sob_…with _him!_" she cried, burying her face in Bess's shoulder.

Bess felt faint. She had thought it safe to let Hermione go to the park because Draco had told her that he had had to leave at five tonight to go somewhere important. When Hermione had arrived, it was five thirty. _Damn!_

Dan was confused. He didn't know what Hermione was talking about. Diego was with whom? If it was someone she didn't like, why didn't she just take him away? He awkwardly patted Hermione on the back.

**

* * *

**

Once Diego's sobs had subsided, Draco glanced at his watch. Five forty-five. He was going to be late for Summer's family dinner. She was probably pacing in her apartment at this very moment, wondering where he was. He smirked, tonight would be fun.

Turning back to Diego, he asked, "Are you okay now?"

Diego nodded.

"You should go home, it's getting late," Draco said.

Together, they walked out of the park. Once at the road, Diego gave him one more hug before racing back home. Draco watched him, for a few seconds then walked to his car and drove back to his apartment.

**

* * *

**

When Diego got home, Hermione had not yet calmed down. She had stopped crying, but now she was angry – with herself for not paying enough attention to her son, with Bess for not telling her and with Malfoy for…well…she didn't want to even think about that.

Dan now knew what was happening, as Bess had hurriedly filled him in.

When Diego walked through the front door, he was greeted with the sight of Bess and a strange man, whom he assumed to be Dan sitting on the couch and his mother pacing near the fireplace.

He smiled and said hello to Dan, who did the same back to him. Next, Diego went over to his mother and gave her a hug. All the while, he was aware that something was wrong.

Hermione only briefly hugged him, before holding him at arms length. "Who were you at the park with?" she asked.

"I was just playing, mummy," Diego said.

"Answer the question, Diego! Who were you with?"

Diego glanced at Bess, but she wouldn't meet his eye. He knew the game was up. "With my friend."

Hermione let go of his shoulders. "Oh. Your friend?"

Diego nodded.

"And what is your friends name?"

Diego was silent.

"Diego, what is your friends name?" she demanded.

"Draco," he said in a small voice.

"Draco? Well, that's a nice name isn't it?" she said, her voice full of anger. Diego felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Bess and Dan both felt bad for the child. They thought that Hermione was being harsher than necessary, but it was her child, and they said nothing.

"Do you _know _who Draco Malfoy _is?_" she asked.

Diego felt like being brave. He jutted his chin forward. "Yes."

"Oh, you do, do you? Tell me then, who is he?"

"He's my best friend!"

Hermione lost it. "He's not your best friend! He's a filthy scumbag! He's a fucking asshole! He's…" she trailed off, breathing hard.

Diego was shocked. His mother had never used words like that before. Tears spilled down his cheeks. Why was she doing this?

Seeing his tears, Bess started forward, but Hermione stopped her. "I forbid you from see him ever again!"

"What?" Diego asked, stunned.

"You heard me. I _forbid_ you!"

"You can't do that!" he yelled back. "Just because _you_ don't like him doesn't mean _I_ can't be friends with him!"

"Don't talk to me like that young man! I am your mother! You don't know anything about Malfoy!"

"NO! His name is Draco! And he's _my_ friend!" Diego insisted, sobs racking through his body.

Dan watched helplessly. What could he do?

Hermione grabbed her son's arm. "Diego, listen to me…"

But Diego wouldn't let her continue. "Let go of me!" he said, wriggling out of her grasp. He moved away from her as she tried to hold him again. "Don't _touch_ me!"

He ran away, up the stairs towards his bedroom.

"Diego!" Hermione called.

He ran to his bedroom doorway. "I hate you!" he screamed. "I _hate_ you!"

**

* * *

**

Phew:wipes sweat from brow: My longest chappie yet! Well, this is the chapter you guys have been bugging me for! Hope you liked it.

I'm SO sorry its taken me so long to update. So much stuff has happened. What with school, exams and my parents deciding to get divorced. I'll try and make the next installment quicker – probably in two or three weeks.

Thanks to all my fabulous reviewers. I love you all!

I know I promised to do my review responses this time, but there are so many of you, if I start on it, I won't be able to upload this chappie for a while – plus, my fingers are tired.

I'll try and make up for it in the next chappie.

Just a quick note, I want to make it clear that this IS a D/H romance. Hermione is NOT going to be with Dan, though it seems like it for now. I may have already said this, but I just wanted to make it apparent to everybody.

Love you all,

A vision of violets

xoxoxoxo


	6. Lost and Confused

**The Apple of My Eye**

**Summary:** Diego is Hermione's son. He doesn't have a father. While playing at the park, he meets a very nice man called Draco. Hermione is unaware of her son's new friend. Then one day, she spies him sitting on the lap of a man she never wanted to see again.

**Disclaimer:** It's surprising I know, but I don't own anything.

**Chapter 6: Lost and Confused

* * *

**

Draco sat back in his chair and sighed contentedly. Last night had been great. He chuckled to himself as he remembered how things had unfolded.

At six-thirty, Draco arrived at Summer's house. "Draco!" she wailed. "You were supposed to be here at six!"

"_Yeah, well I'm here now," he said, already taking out his wand to apparate away. "You coming or not?"_

_Summer pouted at him. "But I'm not ready yet." And she went back into her bedroom to put the finishing touches on her makeup._

_Draco rolled his eyes. If she wasn't ready yet, then why the hell was she complaining that he was late?_

_Half an hour later, Summer deemed herself ready and they apparated to her parent's house together. As soon as their feet touched the ground Draco had walked briskly away from Summer, leaving her confused as she wondered whether to follow him, or start gossiping with her friends. Upon seeing that Draco was already talking to some elderly men she decided it was in her best interest to socialize with her friends, who were currently smiling expectantly at her._

_After chit chatting about business and the like, Draco wandered over to his childhood friend Blaise Zabini._

"_Draco! How's it going, man?" Blaise rose out of his chair upon seeing Draco's arrival._

"_Yeah, not bad. Gotta get rid of that bimbo tonight. How's Clara?"_

"_She's fucking awesome. Planning on popping the big question next weekend."_

_Draco raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're ready for that step mate? You've got quite the reputation, you know."_

"_Draco, I developed that reputation in our Hogwarts days. I'm quite proud of it. The only person with a more infamous reputation was you. But, I've been with Clara for almost two years now and I've been faithful the whole time."_

_Draco coughed._

"_Shut up!" Blaise hissed. "That red head _forced_ herself onto me and I was drunk! But I stopped things before they got too far!"_

"_No you didn't. I had to break the bloody door down and pull the two of you apart."_

_Blaise blushed. "Well, in my drunken state she looked an awful lot like Clara."_

"_Uh-huh."_

"_Okay, whatever. But that was a one off, and quite early in our relationship and that. I really do love her, Draco. I want this to work out and having you spreading rumours about me just won't do."_

"_Don't worry mate," Draco grinned. "You're secret's safe with me."_

_Sighing in relief, Blaise scanned the room. "So, I take it that there's trouble in paradise with you and your little sex toy?"_

"_We were never in paradise."_

"_Oh."_

_A silence ensued. Suddenly, a loud shriek came from the other side of the room. Glancing up, the two men saw that the commotion was coming from Summer and her little group of plastic dolls. It appeared that Summer had poured her drink over the head of another girl, ruining her 120 galleon hair-do. _

"_You bitch!" the girl shrieked._

"_Well, you deserved it," Summer huffed._

_Howling in outrage, the girl hurled herself at Summer and attempted to muss up her hair._

"_Get off! Ouch! Argh!"_

_The sight was hilarious and soon the whole room was chuckling at the two girls as they attempted to have a catfight._

_Feeling highly embarrassed, as it was his girlfriend people were laughing at, Draco went to break them apart. _

"_Summer!" he barked. "I command you to stop this immediately! You're embarrassing yourself!"_

_Upon hearing Draco's voice, both girls stopped at once._

"_But, Draco," Summer simpered, "she was telling everyone that you were going to dump me at any time!"_

_Turning to the girl, he asked if this was true. She merely turned beet red and shied away. Sighing, Draco pulled Summer to her feet, conscious that all eyes in the room were on him. _

"_Tell her it's not true," Summer begged._

"_It's time to set the record straight." Dragging Summer along behind him, he moved to the front of the room._

"_Can I have your attention please?" he asked unnecessarily. The whole room was already ogling at the pair. "We have all just witnessed one of the most ridiculous arguments of all time. Just to make it clear to everyone, Summer and I are no longer a couple."_

_The crowd let out a collective gasp. Summer's parents looked outraged. Summer herself dissolved into tears. The girl she had been fighting with look shocked yet pleased with herself._

_Walking back to Blaise, Draco grinned. "How was I?" he asked._

"_Ahh, mate, you're a classic!" Blaise said, struggling to control his laughter._

"_Feel like joining me for a drink somewhere else?"_

"_Sure."_

_And together, they had apparated away._

Now, Draco chuckled as he remembered the looks on everyone's face when he had so publicly dumped Summer. It had been hilarious. And the funniest thing was, even though he had humiliated Summer and her family in their very own home in front of so many people, no one would treat him any differently. Sure, Summer would avoid him at every social gathering for the next couple of weeks to nurse her wounds, but soon she would once again be one of the many hundreds of rich girls who wanted him. Even her parents would not stop inviting him to parties and the like. He was too distinguished a figure to ignore.

After leaving the party, he and Blaise had gone to a small but stylish bar and caught up on each other's lives. After a couple of drinks, he had loosened up enough to tell Blaise about Diego. While at first puzzled and confused, Blaise had accepted his story without mockery and while he had no advice, he made it clear that Draco could confide in him at any time.

Now, Draco had nothing to do till 11 o'clock. It was rare for him to have free time during the daytime, so he was satisfied to just idle away his time.

* * *

Hermione sat at her desk with her head in her hands. Dan sat opposite her, gazing worriedly at the top of her head. They'd been sitting like that for the past forty-five minutes. Finally, Hermione looked up.

"Dan," she began, "I am _so_ sorry about this."

It was the first thing she'd said to him all morning and Dan felt it was imperative that he not say the wrong thing. But what could he say? "It's okay."

"No it's not!" Hermione protested. "I just wanted you to meet my son and maybe stay for dinner and we were just supposed to have a good time!" On the verge of tears, she buried her face in her hands once again.

Dan wanted nothing more than to go to the other side of the desk and envelope the distraught woman in his arms and tell her that all would be okay. But he didn't know if that would be the right thing to do. He still didn't know how to react to the situation. From Hermione's perspective he supposed that her reaction made sense. But Draco was a good friend of his. He couldn't believe that Draco was misusing a child in the way Hermione accused him.

"Maybe I could talk to Draco?" he asked tentatively.

Hermione's head jerked up. "No! Not a word! I'll find a way to deal with it."

"What do u mean 'deal' with it?" Dan asked suspiciously.

"I don't know."

"Oh…are you okay?"

"That fucking bastard!" Hermione screeched before throwing a paperweight across the room.

Dan stared wide-eyed at the dent in the wall. _I guess not then…

* * *

_

Bess stared at the book in front of her. None of the words were going into her head. Her worried thoughts were on Hermione and more importantly, Diego. The poor child had not spoken to his mother at all. What troubled her most was that Hermione was dealing with the situation completely the wrong way. Instead of confronting Draco, Hermione seemed to be channeling her anger towards Diego. And the poor child was sensitive to the fact, but too naïve to recognize that it was misplaced.

She had stayed overnight, scared that something might happen if she were to go home. But nothing had happened. Dan had left shortly afterwards and Hermione went straight to her room without even bothering to talk to her son. Little Diego had stayed in his room, until Bess had made hot chocolate with marshmallows and knocked on his door. Suspecting his mother, he hadn't answered. So terrified was the child of his mother at the time that when Bess had proceeded to open the door, Diego was nowhere to be seen. Only a slight shuffling noise alerted her to the fact that he had hid himself in his chest of toys.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Bess had lifted him out and cuddled him as he sobbed into her blouse. That was how Hermione had seen them half an hour later on her way to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She paused outside the door and Bess glanced up and saw her. The two of them stared at each other, not knowing what to do. Finally, Hermione had gone back to her room, her thirst forgotten.

Now, Diego was sleeping in his room again. Even though he was only four, he no longer took afternoon naps. However today, all his energy seemed to have drained out of him.

Sighing worriedly, Bess set her book aside. Clasping her hands together, she looked out the window and prayed.

* * *

James Whiting beamed at his employees. "As you all know, we have cracked the Warren Darkins case. It was extremely tough and Darkins was extremely elusive. But we have prevailed!"

A cheer rose from the small crowd.

"We all worked together as a fantastic team," he continued. "But, one of our team members deserves special recognition. Please put your hands together for Hermione Granger!"

There was a smattering of applause as Hermione awkwardly walked to the front of the room.

"Using great initiative, Hermione got us the err…_object_ that unlocked the codes to Darkin's documents and allowed many unsolved crimes to be solved. She has already been rewarded with a promotion, but those upstairs feel that this lovely young lady deserves more. It is my pleasure to announce that Ms Granger is being gifted with a holiday for three to a destination of her choice, all expenses paid!"

There was more applause, but Hermione barely noticed. She was lost in her own turbulent thoughts. Feeling slightly irritated at all her colleagues wishing to congratulate her, she quickly excused herself under the guise of having to use the bathroom.

Standing at the sink, she splashed some water onto her face. _Get a grip,_ she told herself. She was feeling restless. She wanted to do something about the situation at hand…but what she didn't know. Should she confront Malfoy? Or shouldn't she?

And what should she do about Diego? She knew that he was a young child and didn't understand what was going on, but she couldn't bring herself to try and comfort him. For some reason, every time she walked to his door, thinking that she would go in and talk to him, an overwhelming sense of hurt, anger, frustration and worst of all, regret washed over her. Regret for what? Regret for many things. Hermione couldn't help but feel that she had let her son down. As a mother, she had failed to protect him from one of the worst leeches of mankind.

Hermione studied her reflection in the mirror. She looked completely normal. But that was only because of the makeup she wore. It wasn't much, but it was surprising how well expensive foundation covered up the dark circles under her eyes. And she supposed that she was naturally lucky in the sense that even after late nights out or studying, her eyes would be looking fresh the next day, unlike most other people who would look ragged and bloodshot. The only telltale sign of Hermione's current plight was her facial expression. Normally an upbeat person, today she had barely smiled at anything. Many people had just passed it off as her being tired, or even overwhelmed at her promotion and prize. Close friends of hers like James Whiting and Harry Potter however, knew something was up. But they were also sensible enough to know that it was futile to question her about it. Hermione would come to them when she was good and ready.

Making up her mind, Hermione decided that she would confront Malfoy. Today. She knew that he was a busy person and there was only a slight chance he would even be in the office, but she had to try. Otherwise she couldn't be at ease. As she stepped out of the women's bathroom, she was surprised to see Dan waiting for her.

"Hey, you were in there for a while."

She flashed him a small smile. "Yeah, had to fix my makeup."

"I see…would you like to go grab some lunch?"

"Um…no, thank you."

Dan looked a little crestfallen. "Look, I don't want things to change between us. Please don't feel awkward about all this…"

Hermione cut him off. "Dan, it's okay. I think I'll just take the rest of the day off and go home to my son."

"Okay. That's fair enough. I hope it's all turns out well. And listen, if I can help in any way…"

"Yes, I know. You'll be the first one I call if there's anything to be done."

It all happened in a blur. In one fluid motion, Hermione gave him a hug. Just as Dan's senses reacted and he was about to put his arms around her, he felt her mouth on his. But just as he was about to respond to that as well, she was gone.

Blinking twice, Dan ran a hand through his hair. _Oh boy…

* * *

_

Taking a deep breath, Hermione pushed through the doors of Malfoy Inc. Striding straight up to the receptionist, she demanded to see Malfoy at once.

"I'm sorry," she young girl replied, "I'm afraid that Mr Malfoy is not on the premises at this current time."

"Well when will he be back?"

Quickly looking it up on her enchanted computer, she replied, "He's scheduled to be back in the office in about fifteen minutes."

"Right, I'll just wait for him then."

"I'm afraid that would be a waste of time."

"Oh, and why's that?" Hermione glared at the receptionist.

"Mr Malfoy has an appointment as soon as he gets back, and he will be busy for the rest of the afternoon."

"Now, listen here you little tart," Hermione growled, "I _need_ to see Malfoy! I don't care what the hell it is that he's got himself busy with, but I _will_ talk to him. That bastard that signs your measly little paycheck is ruining my life, so I'm going to go sit over there and wait for him."

The shocked receptionist gaped at Hermione's retreating back. It wasn't the first time a woman had come barging into the building demanding to see the boss. It was no secret that Mr Malfoy was a heartbreaker. But the receptionist knew who this woman was. Almost everyone did. Hermione Granger was the last person likely to succumb to the famous Malfoy charms.

Unsure about what to do, she sat down and continued with her work, watching the troubled woman out of the corner of her eye. Obviously, something was up. But what, she had no idea. She knew that she should call security to take Ms Granger off the premises as she was so unwilling to leave, but she was curious to see what was going to unfold.

After a few minutes, the receptionist was aware of some people walking up the steps to the door from outside. Tensing, she realized it was Mr Malfoy with a reporter. Glancing quickly at Ms Granger, she saw that she had not yet seen him. Suddenly feeling anxious, she subconsciously sunk into her chair, trying to maintain minimal visibility.

* * *

"Oh come on now, Mr Malfoy! The public would _love_ to read about your love life," the reporter was saying.

Draco flashed her a charming smile. "I'm sure they would."

"So…you'll tell me then?"

"No."

"Please?"

"You'd probably get more details if you ask my ex."

"Which one?"

"Any of them."

"What about your girlfriend?"

"I don't have one."

There was a gasp. "You're not with Summer Bettany anymore?"

Draco shook his head.

"Since when?"

"Since last night."

"Mr Malfoy, you simply _must_ give me the details!"

"Dorris, I refuse to say anything more about the matter. However, it looks like you are adamant. And since I am so wonderfully brilliant, I have a suggestion."

A smile brightened the reporters face. "Well, let's hear it then."

Seeing that they were almost at his office, Draco said, "Let's go up to my office for some drinks first."

Stepping out of the limousine, they walked up the steps in silence. As soon as they stepped into the building, however, Draco sensed that something was wrong.

* * *

Absorbed in her own thoughts, Hermione's head jerked up as she heard the door push open. She stared dazedly as Malfoy and a middle-aged woman walked in. They walked across the floor and they were almost at the elevator when he saw her. It gave her an odd sense of satisfaction as surprise, confusion and irritation rippled across his face for a brief second.

"Granger," he forced a smile, regaining his composure. "What can I do for you today?"

She stood. "Malfoy, I need to talk to you."

"I'm sure my lovely employees would have told you, but I'm booked out today."

"I don't care. I need to talk to you about something very important."

"There's a very long list of people who say the same thing."

"I assure you, I should be at the top of the list."

"Granger, you of all people would know that your assurances do _nothing_ for me."

Hermione became impatient. "Malfoy, just spare me a minute."

"No, I'm busy." And with that, he guided the reporter to the elevator.

"You bastard!" Hermione shrilled, losing all sense of rationality. "Don't turn your back on me again!"

The reporter raised an eyebrow.

"Again?" Draco asked. "When have I turned my back on you before?"

Hermione just glared in response.

Draco sighed. "Look, if it's so important that you tell me something, just say it now."

"It's a private matter, just between the two of us," Hermione said quietly.

"Granger, we have no private matters 'just between the two of us' as you say. We never have and we never will. You know that." Pushing the button for the elevator, Draco sent the reporter an apologetic look.

Taking a few steps forwards, Hermione pleaded with him, "Malfoy, _please_."

A little startled at her sudden change in tone, Draco looked at her sharply. At the same time, a 'ping' announced the arrival of the elevator. Stepping into it, he said, "Granger, we've barely spoken in the last couple of years and I have no idea why you need to talk to me so urgently. And quite frankly, I don't care. Since you can't even tell me what it's about, all I can is: make an appointment and I'll see if I can get back to you." Pressing the button for the top floor, the door began to close.

"Stay away from Diego!" she shouted in a desperate attempt for him to take her seriously.

Draco's arm shot out to stop the door from closing fully. "You know Diego?" he asked, completely and utterly shocked.

Hermione gave him an odd look. "He's my son."

Stunned beyond belief, Draco stared at her, mouth gaping. The elevator door closed between them slowly.

Once she could no longer see him, Hermione collapsed to her knees. She seemed completely unaware of her surroundings. Suddenly feeling weary and lost, she burst into tears.

The receptionist who had watched the entire exchange with a mixture of interest and fascination, swept Hermione into the ground level staff kitchen, gave her a box of tissues and proceeded to make some tea.

* * *

Draco and the confused receptionist rode in the elevator in silence. Once they reached the top level, they stepped out.

This was Draco's second home. In the foyer, he had his own receptionist. Beyond that was the space for his personal assistant. After that was Draco's own office space. It was large, spacious and comfortable with an arrangement of couches and complete with a kitchenette. Today, both his receptionist and PA had the day off. Draco was about to lead the reporter to this area, when he suddenly remembered that he still had the pictures Diego has drawn his on his walls. Quickly, he guided her to the main reception. After what had just occurred, he didn't need even more awkward questions being asked.

It took Draco several moments to realize that the reporter had been trying to talk to him.

"Sorry, could you please repeat that?"

The reporter gave him a look. "I was asking you why Ms Granger was here, and what she was talking about."

This sent Draco back into his own thoughts. He couldn't believe what Granger had said to him. Diego was _her_ son? He didn't know what to think of this. _It's impossible_, he thought to himself. _But then again, it's not,_ he reasoned. He supposed that it was just as likely that Diego was her son as much as anyone else's. But why _her_ son? Why of all the little children that he could have met, did it have to be _her _son?

Then another thought struck him. _How did she know?_ He supposed that Diego had told her. But wouldn't she have confronted him a long time ago? After all the two had met a couple of weeks ago. Of course, it was possible that Diego had only mentioned him recently, or something like that.

And what about Bess? How did she play a part in all this?

"Mr Malfoy? Mr Malfoy?"

Shaking his head, he eyed at the reporter wearily. "What was that, Dorris?"

She frowned at him. "I understand that you and Ms Granger aren't the best of friends, but why was she shouting at you and making such a big fuss about you staying away from her son?"

Draco turned to look out his window. _Yes Granger, why did you tell me to stay away from Diego? What are you hiding from me?

* * *

_

ZOMGOSH! Finally got this chapter finished!

Guys, am I soooooooooo sorry about the EXTREMELY slow update. I think I've mentioned it in my last couple of reviews, but so many things have been happening and I just had no motivation to write.

I guess I can't really promise anything, but I WILL keep updating. I'm definitely not abandoning either or my fics.

A huge thank you to all you wonder people who reviewed! And an even bigger thanks to all those who took the time to send me emails, or messages enquiring about my fics. I know I didn't respond to all of you, and I'm sorry.

But I finally finished it!

And just reiterating: this IS a Hermione/Draco fic. It'll just take a while.

Love you ALL

A vision of violets

xoxoxo 3


	7. Truth or Lie

**The Apple of My Eye**

**Summary:** Diego is Hermione's son. He doesn't have a father. While playing at the park, he meets a very nice man called Draco. Hermione is unaware of her son's new friend. Then one day, she spies him sitting on the lap of a man she never wanted to see again.

**Disclaimer:** It's surprising I know, but I don't own anything.

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**Chapter 7:**

_**The** surface of the lake rippled in the wind. It was a beautiful sight. He sighed. It was almost the holidays. His father expected him home but he didn't want to go. It wasn't that he disliked his family. On the contrary, he adored his parents and his parents adored him. It was just that he wanted to stay at school – the grounds would be deserted and he would have all of Hogwarts' facilities to himself, and of course the few other students who stayed behind. He didn't have that kind of freedom at home. His father had great expectations of him and therefore always kept close tabs on him to make sure he didn't go wayward._

_The sound of laughter startled him out of his thoughts. Looking up he saw the Golden Trio walking towards the lake. Irritation rippled through him. Those bloody Griffindors were so damn annoying. Nevertheless, even he had to admire the strong friendship the three shared. He watched as Weasley picked Granger up and threw her into the icy lake. It made him chuckle when Granger didn't come back to the surface, making Weasley worriedly peer into the murky depths only to have her reach up and pull him in too._

_What was it like to have such good friends, he wondered. He certainly wasn't short of friends, but he didn't really share a close relationship with anyone. _

"_What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Startled once again, he looked down and saw that Granger had swum over to where he was standing._

"_None of your business," he snapped._

"_Jeez, someone has a pole up his ass," she said, slightly offended at his rudeness._

_For some reason that made him laugh. And it wasn't just a sound; the laughter reverberated through his whole body and made him feel…good. The sight shocked Granger. Was Draco Malfoy actually laughing at something she said? She laughed along with him, she didn't know why. Maybe because it was such a rare opportunity. As their laughter died, they looked off in opposite directions, oddly comfortable with each other's presence. A loud splash reminded her that she was neglecting her friends. Looking over, she fondly watched her two friends having a water fight._

"_Well, I guess I'll see you around then," she said._

"_Yeah, see you around," he said._

_She swam back to her friends and joined in their play. _

_He sat down on the grass and watched them. A couple of times he saw Potter and Weasley look uneasily in his direction. But he didn't really care. He could sit there and watch them if he wished._

_When they left an hour later, it somehow made him feel better when Granger waved at him before walking back to the castle._

**

* * *

**

**Draco** opened his eyes slowly and saw that it was still dark. Why had he remembered that? It had happened years ago, in their seventh year. Towards the end of their Hogwarts days, the students had begun to realize how petty their little feuds were, and the animosity had died down to some extent. They were nowhere near being friends of course, but the Slytherins and Griffindors were no longer hexing each other on sight.

This particular incident had been a one-off for Draco. Nothing like it ever happened again. Nothing changed between him and Granger. But he remembered that he had felt content that afternoon – happy with the realization that he was human enough to be civil to the people he hated the most.

As the students in the school became sick of their trivial fights about blood, houses and heritage, Draco was slightly ashamed to admit that he was one of the last people to conform. However this small exchange with Granger had been a sort of catalyst for him. From then on, he found it easier to just tolerate the highly irritating presence of the Griffindors.

Somehow, though, he could never properly accept the Golden Trio. Yes, he would grudgingly admit that they weren't _bad_ people. They were quite the opposite, seeing as it was them who vanquished the world of its biggest evil and so on and so forth. While Draco could hold civil conversations with most Griffindors for short periods of time, he could never do it with those three particular people. He had tried once. All four of them, plus Blaise had ended up in the Hospital wing for two days.

Civil conversations between him and the Golden Trio didn't exist.

_Sigh._

Draco still didn't know what had happened yesterday. He couldn't believe that his little Diego was Hermione Granger's son. At least now the child's intelligence made sense. Then Draco remembered the lady he had seen running from the park. He now realized that it had been her. _So that's how she found out…_

_Sigh._

Did this mean he couldn't see Diego anymore? The thought saddened him. He had gotten so attached to the child. _At least this will put an end to this unhealthy obsession,_ he thought. Then another thought struck him.

Who was the father?

As far as he knew, Granger was a single woman. _Unless you count her current flirtations with Dan_, Draco grimaced. Diego was about five years old. So, that would mean he was conceived…_no_…it couldn't be…could it?

Cold fear gripping him like a vice, Draco sat up. Surely she would have told him? Looking at the clock he saw that it was 3:00 am.

Could it be? _It certainly can't be!_ He thought. _Granger of all people would have said so…I think…_

Unable to go back to sleep, Draco set up his Wiz-computer. Logging on to the Wiz-Net, he looked up 'Hermione Granger'. There were thousands of files and sites that matched that entry. Hermione Granger was after all, one very famous witch. Every site he went to mentioned her many credentials, glorified her role in the war, highlighted her affiliation with people of the likes of Harry Potter, her current job, her many awards, public functions she had attended…but nothing about her personal life. The most he could find was that she had had a brief fling with famous Seeker, Viktor Krum back in her school days. Draco already knew that…and it wasn't what he was looking for. Granger was obviously a very private person. Nowhere could he find even a mention that she had a son. Usually successful women gloated if they could juggle a great career _and_ a family. But not Granger.

_Sigh._

The clock now read 5:12 am.

Draco had to find out. He had to know; whether it was possible…He just couldn't believe that Granger would keep something like that from him. Looking at his daily planner, he saw that he was completely booked out today. And tomorrow…and the day after. He didn't have any free time for a week. But he couldn't wait that long. He supposed he could see her after hours, but she wouldn't be at work and he didn't know where she lived. Well, he kind of did. He had had that dream…but it couldn't possibly be true, could it? Either way, he didn't feel it would be appropriate to go to her house.

Looking again at his planner, he wondered which ones he could cancel. The lunch with the Mayor today could always be made a dinner appointment. And he could ask the Mayor to bring his family along. Draco was excellent that way – he knew exactly how to get high ranking officials to eat out of his palm, and impressing the family was one of the best ways to do it. If he did that, he'd have three free hours. Hopefully he'd be able to catch Granger then.

I need to know…

**

* * *

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**The Daily Prophet**

The Secret Life of a Dragon

Draco Malfoy is one of Europe's most successful businessmen. But there is so much more to this dashing young man. **Dorris Hutchinson** uncovers a few secrets.

At the age of twenty-two, Draco Malfoy has achieved more in life than most eighty-year olds. Five years ago, when he was fresh out of Hogwarts, Malfoy joined his father's company. Faced with Death-Eater allegations, and the prospect of a life sentence in Azkaban, Lucius Malfoy was losing business drastically. His young son however, saved Malfoy Inc from bankruptcy and it is now the Europe's most successful wizarding company.

With his charming good looks and vibrant personality, Draco Malfoy has caught the heart of the entire female population of Europe. This reporter can exclusively reveal that Malfoy and Summer Bettany are no longer a couple. Yes, that's right; Draco Malfoy is a free man once again! While Malfoy refused to indulge the details of the break up, close friends reveal that it was done at a family function hosted by Bettany's family. When contacted to provide a few words for this article, Ms Bettany promptly burst into tears and claimed that 'Draco was my one true love! And now he's shattered my heart into a thousand pieces and in front of my friends and family too. I don't know how I'll be able to live without him now…"

Inside sources reveal that Bettany has not left her exclusive Soho apartment since the break up. I'm sure we all feel for the girl.

**Story continues page 4 ****

* * *

**

Hermione snorted at the ridiculous article. She couldn't believe that this had made the front page of the Daily Prophet. _The world is lowering its standards,_ she thought.

She was sitting at the table for breakfast, with Diego across from her, and Bess to the side. There had been an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the swooshing of an owl delivering the newspaper. Seeing the front-page article on Draco Malfoy had not helped Hermione's mood in the slightest. She thought back to the day before. After her embarrassing outburst to Malfoy, the receptionist (what was her name again? Dianne?), had given her some tea and biscuits and respected the fact that Hermione was not willing to talk about what was wrong. For that she was grateful. Instead, the young girl had chit chatted about random things, trying to lighten the mood and put Hermione in better spirits. It had helped a bit. She had left after an hour, departing with the girl's phone number and Wiz-net address.

Thinking back, Hermione could see that she had not handled things as well as she could have. For one, she should have just made an appointment with Malfoy, or ambushed him when he wasn't with someone else. It was obvious that he was shocked to find out that Diego was her son. _At least I know he wasn't swindling my son with the intent of hurting me,_ she thought.

But still. She couldn't believe that Draco Malfoy was spending time with a young child. What was he? Some kind of pedophile? She desperately wanted to know how he had met her son, but Diego refused to speak to her. She thought about asking Bess, but decided that she'd rather hear it from Diego's mouth, whenever he got over this silly little mood of his. Really, the child was being stupid. He didn't understand what was going on. Diego couldn't possibly like Malfoy _that _much…could he?

Still, Hermione didn't think she ought to go apologize to him like Bess said she should. She hadn't done anything wrong. She had a _right_ to be enraged.

So then when did she feel so horrible inside?

Looking up at her son, her heart caught. Diego had his head in one hand and with his other; he was absent-mindedly stirring a spoon through his porridge. His silky white-blonde hair hung over part of his face. His eyes downcast, he looked positively miserable.

"Diego…" she started uncertainly.

He looked up.

"Diego," she said again, "I think we need to talk about what happened."

The child's shoulders stiffened visibly.

"I want you to understand that I'm not trying to be mean here. I'm doing this because it will be the best for everyone."

Diego looked back down at his porridge. "But, mummy, Draco is my friend. I like him very much."

"Malfoy is no one's friend! The selfish bastard cares only for himself!"

"Hermione!" Bess admonished. "That is no way to talk to your son."

Breathing in sharply, Hermione gripped her glass of orange juice tightly. "I have not changed my mind about what I said before. You are still forbidden to meet him again."

Seeing that the boy's bottom lip was trembling, Bess pleaded with the angry mother. "Hermione, think about what you're doing! He's only a child; he doesn't understand what is happening. Cutting him off from Draco will only hurt and confuse him. This will be detrimental to him in the long-run."

"Oh, _Draco_ now is he?" Hermione eyed Bess coolly. "Well, since you're such good buddies with him, I suppose now you're going to sneak around behind my back and arrange secret meetings with he so that he can further corrupt my child?"

Utterly outraged, Bess stood abruptly. "I never thought I'd see the day when _you,_ Hermione, would turn against me. I thought you of all people would know that I would never do such a thing. Our relationship was built on honesty and trust and it seems that you no longer trust me."

Realising that she had made a mistake, but her pride getting in the way, Hermione remained silent.

Sensing this but still feeling absolutely resolute, Bess asked very bluntly, "Would you like me to stay or leave?"

Taken aback, Hermione gaped at her for a second. Part of her felt like snapping back and telling Bess she could leave if she liked. But she knew she couldn't do that. Bess had watched her growing up and helped her through the hard times. Looking down at the table, Hermione said quietly, "I'd like you to stay…please."

Bess walked over to Hermione and hugged her from behind. "Don't let a man like Draco Malfoy keep you from being the best mother you can be to your wonderful little boy. He's confused, he doesn't know about your past. He needs you."

Hermione slumped back into Bess's embrace and sighed.

**

* * *

**

Draco tapped his quill on his desk in contemplation. He had already wasted twenty minutes of his three free hours. Why? Because he was too scared of facing Granger. Scared was probably the wrong word. Apprehensive maybe? _Sigh._ Walking over to his window, he gazed down at the busy lunchtime traffic. He really needed to find out.

Picking up his wand, he apparated to the foyer of Ministry of Magic. As he waited for the elevator, he looked around the small crowd in the foyer. There was an assortment of people, ranging from the stinking rich to the poorest of the poor. Of course, he was richer and more influential than anyone else here. But what did it matter? At the moment he felt like he was the poorest person in the world.

When the elevator opened at the right floor, Draco considered going right back home. But he couldn't. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep at night until he found out. At the front desk he asked if Granger was in. As he walked towards her office, he received a few odd looks from people. Not that he noticed. Pausing outside her door, Draco took a deep breath. Before he could knock however, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Whirling around he was startled to see Potter looking quizzically at him.

"What brings you here, Malfoy?"

"Uhh, I'm here to see Granger."

"Why?"

"None of your damn business, that's why!"

Potter raised an eyebrow at him.

"Look, I just need to see her about something, okay?"

Raising his other eyebrow as well, Potter reached past him and knocked on the door. "It might help if you actually knocked on her door." And with that, he walked off.

Scowling at his retreating back, Draco turned back to face the door. He was still scowling when Hermione opened the door.

Seeing him, she began closing the door again, but he reached out and stopped her. "Granger, we need to talk."

"No we don't. You just need to stay away from my son."

"Please, Granger?"

Slowly releasing the door, Hermione let him in. "I have protection spells in here, you know."

Draco looked confused. "Uh…so?"

"So…don't try anything."

"I'm not here to hurt you, you fool," Draco said with a disgusted look on his face.

Sitting behind her desk, she clasped her hands together and placed them under the chin. "Whatever. What do you want?"

"I…Um…about Diego…"

"There's nothing to discuss about him. You are never to see him again. I've told Diego the same, and that's the end of it."

"Diego doesn't want to see me anymore?"

"He understands that his mother knows best and he obeys me," Hermione lied.

"Oh," Draco looked down at his hands.

"If that's all, you can leave now, Malfoy."

"Actually, I had one more question."

Eying him hesitantly, Hermione waited for him to continue.

"I don't know how to say it properly. I was wondering…I mean, I was thinking about it and it didn't make any sense. With all that happened I didn't know, but I want to know, you know?"

"Malfoy, that didn't make any sense."

Draco sighed. "Who's his father, Granger?"

Hermione gaped at him for a second. "Wha-what?"

Draco just stared at her. Regaining her composure, she asked coolly, "Why do you want to know?"

Unsure of how to put his feelings into words, he just shrugged helplessly. "I…I was just wondering. I mean, Diego himself doesn't know. But he said that his father was still alive. Who is he?"

"I don't see how any of this concerns you, Malfoy. Now, if you don't mind, I have a lot of work to do." And with a deft flick of her wand, Draco felt himself being pulled by an invisible force out of her room.

"No! I want an answer!" Grabbing hold of the doorframe, Draco tried to resist the spell.

"Get out, Malfoy. You're making a scene," Hermione said, without even looking at him. Instead, she went to her cabinet and started going through some files.

Anger and frustration coursing through his body, Draco began to shout. "Granger you're a bitch! You're cutting me off from the boy. The least you could do is answer my question – I deserve to know! Who the hell is Diego's father?"

Hearing the commotion, a few curious people came out into the hallway to see what was going on.

Embarrassment glowed bright red on Hermione's cheeks. "_Silencio!_" she screamed, to stop him from making any further noise. Seeing that the spell was still trying to drag him out of the room, Hermione rushed around her desk and physically pulled him back into the room, slamming the door shut. Still, Draco was flung against the closed door, the doorknob sticking painfully into his back.

"Using your fucking wand!" he tried to say. Hermione only saw his mouth move.

"What?"

Draco pointed desperately at her discarded wand lying on the floor.

"Oh." Picking it up, Hermione muttered the counter-curse.

Sliding to the floor, Draco pressed one had to the small of his back, wincing in pain. "I thought you were supposed to be the smartest witch in our year."

"I'm the smartest witch to ever graduate from Hogwarts," Hermione spat back at him.

Draco held his hands up in mock defeat. And for a few moments, they both stared at the floor.

"Why the hell were you shouting like that?" Hermione barked, suddenly remembering that she was furious at him.

"Because I want an answer to my question," he said simply.

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's none of your god damn business!"

Draco looked up at her and sneered. "You think you're so good, don't you?"

"What?"

"Yeah. You think that just because you're bloody Hermione 'Saviour of the World' Granger, you can do whatever the fuck you want."

"That's preposterous. I'm not like that."

"Oh, really? Then why is it that you can keep whatever you want from people, but if other people don't want to tell you anything, you beat it out of them?"

"I don't do that!" Hermione protested.

"Really, Granger? Can you honestly tell me that you don't abuse your fame?"

"Yes…" she muttered unconvincingly, staring at the floor once again.

Draco scoffed.

"But you do it too!" she said defensively.

"Doesn't make it okay for you to do it. Besides, I only do that to waiters. If I want information, I charm my victims. I never use my wand."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're an egotistical prick."

"You're a hypocritical bitch."

Raising her wand, Hermione glowered at him. "I hate you."

"That's okay, I hate you more."

"Ha! Malfoy, you have _no_ idea how much I hate you."

"Oh, I think I do. I hate you for pretty much the same reasons that you hate me." Ignoring her wand, which was incidentally pointed at his throat, Draco examined his fingernails.

"No, Malfoy. See that's the thing. You don't even know _why_ I hate you the way I do!"

He frowned. "That's a bit unfair don't you think? Maybe it was something I did by accident…maybe I didn't actually mean you to have such a hateful reaction."

"It was a mistake alright."

"What was?"

"Nothing."

_Sigh._ Draco was getting fed up with her silly game. He stood up and took a step towards her. Hermione took a step back and hit her desk. "Can you please just tell me who Diego's father is?"

"It's my private life, it has nothing to do with you, so fuck off!"

"That's not very nice, Granger. It's a very simple question. I know you want me to go away. And I will…after you tell me."

Hermione snarled and began to hex him. But before she could finish saying the curse, Draco had grabbed her arm and twisted it.

"Ow! Get off me, you pedophile!"

"What the hell did u call me? I am _not_ a pedophile!"

"Then why do u hang around little kids?"

"I don't!"

"You were hanging out with Diego all the time."

"That was different, we had a connection. There's something special about Diego."

The next thing Draco knew, his head snapped back and his nose ached. Dumbfounded, he staggered. "You hit me!" Still reeling from the shock, he pushed her. Hermione hit her desk again.

Furiously, she pushed him back. "You stay away from my son. He's _my_ son, you hear? If I say stay away from him, then you stay away from him." When her pushing didn't seem to have much of an effect on him, Hermione began hitting, scratching and clawing at him.

Draco tried to push her off, but she kept coming back. _Granger is deranged,_ he thought to himself. Finally he couldn't take it any longer; she was starting to hurt him. So, Draco slapped her. It wasn't very hard, just a sharp tap across the face. But it was enough to stun her. "_Who is his father?"_ he asked with clenched teeth.

Hermione sank to the floor. "Idno" she mumbled.

"Sorry, what?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you 'don't know'?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Right after seventh year…it just happened…I met some guy at a bar and I was extremely drunk and the next morning I was alone in a hotel room."

"You're joking, right?"

She scowled. "No, I'm dead serious. I don't even know his name."

"Why couldn't you just tell me this before?"

"Because I'm _Hermione Granger_. I don't do things like this. It's shameful. It's not like I prance about going 'Hi, I'm Hermione. I had a one night stand and now I have a five year old son!' I certainly wasn't going to tell _you_ of all people about it."

"So that's it? You just don't know? What are you going to say to Diego when he gets older? Do you just expect him to never have a father?"

Hermione sighed. "I don't know. I guess I just…actually you know what? Go away. This has nothing to do with you. You got your answer now bugger off."

"But…"

"Fuck off!"

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Just tell Diego I'm sorry, please?"

"Leave!"

And so Draco left.

**

* * *

**

That night, Draco couldn't sleep. Now that he knew, he felt relieved. Yet, he was still confused. It didn't make sense. Like Granger had said, she didn't do things like that. But why would she lie? And Draco himself knew that one couldn't always trust a person to be that same all the time. People did very unexpected things sometimes. But still. It was weird.

It just saddened him that he couldn't see Diego anymore. He desperately wanted to, but Granger had forbidden it. And since she was the child's mother, there was nothing he could do. The world was such a cruel and horrible place. Turning onto his side, he winced when one of the scratched Granger had given him touched the pillow. God, she was a bitch.

_Sigh._

**

* * *

**

Hermione stared out her window at the moon. She had a hot mug of coffee in her hands, but it seemed like she had forgotten it was there. Her mind was in turmoil.

Yes, she had lied to Malfoy. But she had no choice. She couldn't tell him the truth. Everyone would be better off this way. Mainly Diego. He was the world to her. He was the only reason she was still here today. Back then…when all her hopes and dreams appeared to be shattered, she just looked at his tiny, beautiful face. Everyday that she looked at him and saw how he had grown, her heart would swell with pride. He was her gorgeous baby, and she wouldn't let anyone take him away from her.

Especially not Draco Malfoy.

**

* * *

**

FINALLY got this chapter up. I actually wrote half of this within a week of posting the last chapter…but then things just kinda fell apart from there. But I was up all night last night doing this…and then my stupid wireless modem thingy decided to screw up. But it's all fixed now and here it is!

I am really sorry that it took a long time though. I just hope that you guys are still willing to continue reading, and I really hope you guys liked the chapter!

I guess now, I'll be updating Unfortunate Fates next. Don't give up on me yet, guys! I haven't abandoned my fics yet. All my reviewers – I LOVE YOU! Thanks for encouraging me to keep writing. I couldn't have done it without you guys )

Love,

A vision of violets

xoxoxo


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